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Dharampal starts his new innings with key west U.P. meet, Maurya makes imp tweet
Dharampal participated in a party’s organizational meeting in Ghaziabad, where both deputy chief ministers were also present along with state chief Swatantra Dev.
The Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary (organisation) Dharampal has taken over his new responsibility and straightaway got to work with a meeting in west Uttar Pradesh amid the buzz that the appointment of a new state chief was round the corner.
Dharampal participated in a party’s organizational meeting in Ghaziabad, where both deputy chief ministers were also present along with state chief Swatantra Dev.This meeting was described as ‘parichayatmak baithak (introductory meet)’ for the new general secretary (organisation) to align the party leaders in west U.P. with the party leadership’s plan and approach for 2024 Lok Sabha polls, party leaders said.
Interestingly, Maurya tweeted, “Sangathan sarkaar se bada hai (organisation is bigger than the government)”- a tweet that was read as party leadership’s possible plan to name a minister for the key job.
Dharampal is an OBC and after the party leadership elevating profile of Maurya, an OBC leader, some party leaders suggested that the dice is cast in favor of an upper caste politician for the state chief’s post.
Since 2014, the BJP has had upper caste leaders as state chiefs ahead of the Lok Sabha polls (2014, 2019) and OBC leaders on the post in state elections (2017, 2022), which may be the reason why an upper caste as state chief has gained currency ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Before 2014, the state chiefs used to be mostly from eastern Uttar Pradesh and with the general secretary (organisation) now from west U.P. (Bijnor), a guessing game is on about the region from which the new state chief would hail.
East U.P., where the BJP earlier was weak, is now taken care of, especially with Prime Minister Narendra Modi representing Varanasi in Lok Sabha and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, a five-time MP, now a first-time MLA in state assembly from Gorakhpur. It’s the west U.P., where, despite doing well, the BJP has faced opposition, mostly from Jats, the OBC group, comprising mostly farmers.
Coincidentally, Dharampal too belongs to the same community though the Sangh, his parent organization, doesn’t believe in caste system and that’s why its pracharaks or key appointees or often known by their first names.
BJP’s west U.P. focus is also revealed in the recent allotment of districts, more than two dozen of them are with Adityanath himself. These include districts in Saharanpur, Meerut, Moradabad and Aligarh divisions along with Azamgarh. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, despite its win, the BJP had lost Saharanpur, Bijnor, Nagina, Sambhal, Moradabad and Amroha Lok Sabha and the party is now focused on these, leaders said.
The BJP had recently allotted 75 districts across the state, including 25 districts each to the chief minister Adityanath as well as two deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak.
Adityanath is soon expected to begin travel of these districts that are under him.
“It’s not as if, east U.P. is being ignored. We are aware that opposition leaders are galvanising around that region, some beginning their tour from Jaunpur. In a way, we are focusing across the state and all leaders, including top leadership, have been tasked with key roles,” a party leader explained.
Interestingly, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has already toured Jaunpur and is now expected to visit Azamgarh on Monday. Both, Jaunpur and Azamgarh are key east U.P. districts where the Samajwadi Party, despite its shock loss in the recent Lok Sabha bypolls in Azamgarh and Rampur, has done well.
