Pankaj Chaudhary
Credit: X/@mppchaudhary
Lucknow: Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, a seven-time MP and an influential OBC leader, was Sunday formally declared the new president of BJP Uttar Pradesh unit.
Chaudhary, who hails from the electorally influential ‘kurmi’ community, was elected unopposed for the post of the state president as no other nomination paper was filed for the post on Saturday.
His name was formally announced as the new state party president here by Union minister Piyush Goyal in the presence of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his two deputies Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brijesh Pathak and other leaders.
Speaking after being anointed as the new state unit president of the BJP, Chaudhary said that he would ensure respect for the ordinary party workers and that their views would be given due importance.
He also exuded confidence that the BJP would return to power with more seats in the next assembly polls which are due in 2027.
Chaudhary’s appointment was being viewed in the political circles here as an attempt to counter rival Samajwadi Party’s ‘PDA’ (pichda, dalit, alpsankhyak) formula in the state. Chaudhary is a member of the ‘kurmi’ community, which is in sizable numbers in several eastern UP districts.
BJP’s tally in the state in the 2024 LS polls declined to 33 from 62 in the 2019 LS elections. The SP, which could win only five seats in 2019 LS polls, managed to win 37 seats in 2024. SP nominees fared well in several OBC-dominated seats in the eastern UP region. The success of the party was then attributed to the PDA formula.