Uttar Pradesh featured prominently in Bharatiya Janata Party chief JP Nadda’s new squad announced on Saturday, leading experts to say it was done with the 2022 state polls in mind.
The party elected Fatehpur Sikri’s Jat MP Rajkumar Chahar, 53, to head its national kisan morcha (farmers wing) replacing Virendra Singh Mast, the Ballia MP.
Chahar has been given a key role as the ruling party advocates for agricultural sector ‘reforms’ that opposition parties have called ‘anti-farmer’ and which have sparked widespread anti-government protests leading to one of the Oldest components of the NDA: Shiromani Akali Dal from Punjab, leaving the coalition.
In total, 11 UP leaders have found a place on Nadda’s team. Former UP Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal, a Bareilly lawmaker, has been appointed treasurer in the national body, while party deputy Rekha Verma, leader of Kurmi, is among 12 national vice presidents announced by the party.
Verma had defeated Congress leader Jitin Prasada, currently busy connecting with the Brahmins in UP.
“The team has a proper caste representation, as it has a Brahmin, a Thakur, a Vaishya and an OBC. He also has a Muslim, because Syed Zafar Islam is now a Rajya Sabha deputy of UP, ”said a party leader, adding that all regions from west to east were represented in the new team.
Arun Singh, a member of UP’s Thakur and Rajya Sabha, has been hired as the national secretary general and office in charge. Amit Malviya, also from UP, would continue to be the party’s head of IT and social media.
Of the 11 UP members on Nadda’s team, six are state MPs, including two from Lok Sabha.
“Before being appointed head of the party, Nadda ji had been in charge of the UP and therefore the selection of team members is a smart mix of caste and regional balance,” said one party leader.
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Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader Shiv Prakash from Lucknow is among the three co-secretaries general (organization) of the national panel.
Despite the focus on the south, as well as the induction of leaders from Bihar and West Bengal, the two states that will soon hold elections, the continued focus on UP cannot be lacking. At a time when the party is facing aggressive opposition to its recent agricultural reforms, it has turned a UP MP on its head kisan morcha. Then another UP leader continues to direct the party’s IT strategy and another UP leader is now the national treasurer, ”said Irshad Ilmi, a veteran journalist and policy expert.
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“I would say that the representation of the UP has been made taking into account the polls of the state assembly of 2022 and that is why the Lok Sabha parliamentarians have been given place in the national body,” he said.
Basti’s deputy from the BJP, Harish Dwivedi, said his appointment as national secretary was proof that the party rewards its cadres.
“I am a simple worker and yet I have been elected as the national secretary. I am indebted to the party leadership, ”he said.
The 23-member media team also has three faces of UP, including two members of Rajya Sabha: Sudhanshu Trivedi and Syed Zafar Islam. Gaurav Bhatia is the other member of the national panel.
This is the first major shakeup in the national body since 2014. Former BJP chief Amit Shah, now the country’s interior minister, after replacing Rajnath Singh, did not produce any major changes to the national team, party leaders said. .
Vinod Sonkar, the MP from Kaushambi, who headed the Dalit Morcha (Wing) party is now the party’s national secretary.
“It is a perfectly balanced national body,” said UP BJP Vice President Vijay Bahadur Pathak.
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