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Shah’s opening remarks calling Deputy CM Keshav Maurya “my friend” have revived speculation that it could well be Maurya
The BJP saw its numbers decline in last year’s parliamentary polls, with the SP and Congress surprising with an impressive score. (PTI file)
After a long wait, the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit president is expected to be announced by early next week. The process to appoint the new president was initiated in October last year and, by all accounts, was expected to be finalised by January. However, various pull pressures and political considerations led to one postponement after another.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Lucknow on Sunday, followed last week by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath calling on him at his Delhi residence, has sealed the fate of the new president. Shah was in Lucknow to distribute appointment letters to newly recruited cops, but matters other than that have supposedly also been finalised, say sources.
When Adityanath called on Shah at his New Delhi residence last week to invite the Home Minister to Lucknow, the matter was given a final touch, say sources. Now, the speculation is on who would be the new face to lead the party in the crucial 2027 Assembly polls.
Shah’s opening remarks calling Deputy CM Keshav Maurya “my friend” have revived speculation that it could well be Maurya. As the most prominent OBC face of the state BJP, Maurya enjoys popularity among party cadres. He also commands seniority, having earlier been state president in 2017 when the BJP won UP after a two-decade hiatus, and since then has served as the Deputy CM of UP for two consecutive terms. The party had been veering towards choosing either an OBC or Dalit as the new president, as both communities were seen to be cosying up to the opposition Samajwadi Party and Congress in the 2024 parliamentary polls.
The BJP saw its numbers decline in last year’s parliamentary polls, with the SP and Congress surprising with an impressive score. Party insiders say that given the heightened political activity by the Samajwadi Party and the caste census being announced by the central government, an OBC could be the preferred choice.
Names of OBC leaders like Union Ministers B.L. Verma and Pankaj Chowdhary (both from the important Kurmi caste), and State Animal Husbandry Minister Dharampal Singh (Lodh Rajput) are also doing the rounds. The Dalit leaders seen as front runners are Minister Baby Rani Maurya, Asim Arun, former Union Minister Ram Shankar Katheria, and Vidya Sagar Sonkar.
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