Union minister Pankaj Chaudhary takes over as president of UP BJP | Lucknow News

Lucknow: Union minister and seven-term MP from Maharajganj, Pankaj Chaudhary was formally appointed as the new UP BJP president on Sunday, in a key change in organisational leadership ahead of the panchayat elections due next year and subsequently the high stakes UP assembly polls in 2027.The appointment of Chaudhary as the new state chief was announced by the union minister and BJP’s central election in charge for state president, Piyush Goyal at a grand event organised at the auditorium of Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University.Chaudhary is the fourth Kurmi leader after Om Prakash Singh (January 2000 to August 2000), Vinay Katiyar (June 2002 to July 2004), and Swantantra Dev Singh (July 2019 to August 2022) to helm the party’s organisational command in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh.The appointment of a Kurmi leader at the top post is seen as significant since the community happens to be a key OBC bloc, especially in eastern UP, Bundelkhand and parts of central UP. His elevation is clearly aimed at consolidating non-Yadav OBC support, countering the Samajwadi Party‘s PDA narrative and reinforcing BJP’s broader social engineering model that blends upper castes, non-Yadav OBCs and non-Jatav Dalits.“He (Pankaj Chaudhary) is a seasoned and a down to earth leader who would take the party to new heights,” Goyal said, adding that all BJP leaders were essentially workers who wish to serve and take the party forward.Chaudhary was subsequently brought to the centre stage of the podium even as the outgoing UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary handed him the party flag, amid loud cheers from party workers who had gathered in large numbers at the venue. The new UP BJP president was then greeted by senior BJP leaders, including CM Yogi Adityanath and UP ministers with bouquets and garlands.It is estimated that nearly 3,000 party workers turned up to attend the function which potentially marked the beginning of a new organisational era in UP BJP which gears up to face a belligerent opposition, primarily the Samajwadi Party and its ally Congress.Chaudhary shared the stage with six other former UP BJP presidents – Keshav Maurya, Laxmikant Bajpai, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Ramapati Ram Tripathi, Surya Pratap Shahi and Swatantra Dev Singh. BJP also sent its national general secretaries – Arun Singh and Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal – and Rajya Sabha MP K Laxman to attend the function.Chaudhary’s appointment as the new UP BJP president came a day after he filed the nomination papers for the post, in what was described by the party as a “democratic exercise”. By choosing a single, consensus candidate with long parliamentary experience, the BJP aimed to signal its preference for stability and predictability rather than internal competition. Chaudhary’s anointment without contest suggested that the central leadership wanted to avoid factionalism and ensure a smooth transition.CM Yogi Adityanath hailed Chaudhary as a leader who would soon be reaching all districts to mobilise the cadres for the upcoming poll battles including the 2027 assembly elections. “You do not need to come to Gorakhpur or Maharajganj. Our state president would reach all districts,” Yogi said, asking the party workers to focus on their respective constituencies and polling booths while helping in carrying out various government programmes, including the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for updating the voter list.Deputy CM Keshav Maurya termed Chaudhary as an “experienced leader” who would ensure that the party posts a “record breaking victory” in the next assembly elections. “I hope, the victory would be bigger than the one in the 2017 assembly elections,” Maurya said, asking the party workers to hit the ground running and smash the “deceiving” Pichhada, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (PDA) poll narrative of the opposition.Maurya said that the BJP electoral prospects were being boosted by the strong governance led by PM Narendra Modi at the Centre and CM Yogi Adityanath in the state.Outgoing UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary said that as party workers we all need to work under a party flag. “Our position keeps changing. But we need to work hard in executing party programmes,” he said.120-member parishad from UP to elect national presidentUnion minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday announced the 120 member Rashtriya Parishad from UP which would take part in the election of the new national president. The key members of the parishad include PM Narendra Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, CM Yogi Adityanath, deputy CMs – Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak – outgoing UP BJP chief and party MLC Bhupendra Chaudhary, former Amethi MP Smriti Irani, former MP Mahendra Nath Pandey, former MP Ramapati Ram Tripathi and UP minister s – Surya Pratap Shahi and Swatantra Dev Singh.