JOIN USThe Delhi BJP’s revamp is likely to be completed by early next month end, says unit chief Satish Upadhyay, admitting that the process is taking more time as the leaders are simultaneously working towards saffron affiliate ABVP’s victory in the Delhi University Students’ Union.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, currently controls three of the four DUSU posts – including the president, vice-president and joint secretary.
“We have to help the student leaders to register a thumping victory,” said Upadhyay, reaffirming the BJP’s commitment to hone young leaders for key assignments in the future.
The Delhi BJP chief, who himself was the vice-president of DUSU in 1981, also dropped ample hints of offering strategic help to the ABVP in the September 12 DUSU polls.
“Our attention, at present, is entirely on the DUSU elections. Party reorganisation is not immediately on the agenda,” he said.
A victory in DUSU for a saffron outfit is important for the BJP as in the past also these elections have given them a new generation of leaders.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was the DUSU president in 1974, Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel was the president in 1971 and Vijay Jolly held the top students’ union post in 1980. Satish Upadhyay himself was the state secretary of the ABVP in 1984.
The Delhi BJP chief hinted that the reorganisation of the unit was taking more time as he was aiming to change almost 75 per cent of the office bearers.
Upadhyay was appointed as the Delhi BJP chief early last month and even after a month of taking over the new assignment, he has not changed the team put in place by his predecessor Harsh Vardhan.
Sources said the revamp of the city unit had run into a road block-of-sorts as there were not enough “clean” leaders coming forward to taking up key posts in the organisation.
“Many of the BJP leaders keen to join Upadhyay’s team are turning out to be linked to property dealing or criminal wrong doings,” said a leader.
Upadhyay, 50, is likely to have a young team and a few of the leaders, who worked hard to make the party’s recent national council meeting at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium a success, are going to be rewarded with key organisational posts, said a BJP leader.