Stage set for U.P. BJP chief’s election, several names doing the rounds
With party announcing presidents for 70 of the 98 organisational districts, the number is well above the 50% quorum required for the election of the new state BJP chief
The long-awaited announcement of new BJP district presidents in Uttar Pradesh has set the stage for the overdue election of the party’s state president, intensifying the race for the top organisational post in the state with several names already in circulation.
The delay in finalisation of the district presidents’ names was stalling the state president’s election that the party had initially decided to complete by January end. But even after rounds of meetings and discussions at various levels in Lucknow and Delhi, the party has been able to announce presidents for 70 of the 98 organisational districts. The number is enough to pave the way for the election of the new BJP chief in Uttar Pradesh.
Some names for the new party chief in UP are already doing the rounds. Among them are Swatantra Dev Singh, a minister in the Yogi cabinet and a key OBC leader, BL Verma, a minister in the Modi government and OBC leader representing the Lodh comminity, Amar Pal Maurya, a Rajya Sabha MP and state general secretary coming from the OBC, Dinesh Sharma, former deputy chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP who comes from upper caste Brahmin community and Laxmi Kant Bajpayee, a Rajya Sabha member and former UP BJP chief belonging to the Brahmin community in Meerut.
Party insiders also do not rule out the possibility of the BJP repeating the present UP BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary by virtue of his proximity to the top Central leadership.
“In either case, the party will weigh pros and cons related to caste and regional dynamics while electing the new state BJP chief who will have the responsibility of fetching victory for the party in crucial 2027 assembly elections as well civil in polls thereafter,” another BJP leader stated.
“As per the party’s constitution, a minimum 50% of the total district presidents are required to complete the process of the election of the state president. With the announcement of 70 of the 98 presidents that minimum requirement now stands fulfilled,” U.P. BJP chief Bhupendra Chaudhary said.
Now, depending on the Central leadership, the election of the U.P. BJP chief would be completed any day, he added. Union minister Piyush Goyal has been appointed election officer to oversee the election of the BJP president in Uttar Pradesh. The party had already decided to elect mandal, district presidents as well as the state chief through consensus rather than voting.
The completion of election of state presidents will clear the decks for the election of the national president of the BJP. Again, according to the BJP’s constitution, the election process for the national president will progress only after at least 50% of the state presidents and other office bearers are elected.
“U.P. is not the only state with incomplete election process. In fact, only a dozen states have been able to elect their state presidents and other office bearers so far,” a senior BJP leader said here, indicating the election of the national president might get delayed further.
Current BJP president and Union minister JP Nadda took over from Amit Shah in 2019 for a five-year term and has been on an extended term since.
Current UP BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, a Jat, was picked by the party to replace Swatantra Dev Singh in August 2022, understandably to reach out to Jats in western UP where farmer discontent against the Central and the state government was growing.
The organisational elections of BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which began in November 2024, have been ongoing for the past three months. The process commenced in December with elections for 1,62,459 booth committees, followed by the election of 1,918 mandal (block-level) units.
In the second week of January, nominations for district presidents were conducted. After multiple rounds of discussions on the panel received from districts, BJP announced the names of district presidents in 70 out of 98 organizational districts.
“Due to by-elections in 11 districts, organizational elections in those areas were conducted at the end of February. As a result, the declaration of presidents for the remaining 28 districts will be completed in the second phase later this month,” election officer and former Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said.