New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday appointed Bhupendra Chaudhary as the new party president in Uttar Pradesh. Mr Chaudhary is currently the cabinet minister in Yogi government and will fill the vacancy created by exit of Swatantra Dev Singh.
Chaudhary’s appointment is seen as BJP’s attempt to reach out to the influential Jat community in Western Uttar Pradesh, even as the party draws roadmap for 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Jat community accounts for a sizeable vote bank in the Western UP and have remained at the forefront of farmers protest against farm laws.
Along with Chaudhary, BJP also appointed new presidents in Tripura and Himachal. Rajiv Bhattacharya was made Tripura BJP chief while Saudan Singh was made election-in-charge of Himachal BJP.
In the recently concluded UP Assembly elections, the Jat community though voted significantly for BJP but SP-RLD alliance sided with a vast chunk of votes.
With Chaudhary’s appointment, the saffron party hopes to consolidate its voters base in the region and also send a message to farming community in adjoining states like Punjab & Haryana.
With his appointment as party president, Uttar Pradesh has become the 3rd state where Jat leader leads the party, the other two include O P Dhankar in Haryana and Satish Poonia in Rajasthan.
Bhupendra Chaudhary is currently the state minister for Panchayati Raj in Yogi govt and comes from Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. He is also associated with the RSS-affiliate Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
With over 3 decades of organizational experience, Chaudhary is an asset for the party, not just in consolidating voters base but also in mobilizing the party cadre in the Jatland, for 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Uttar Pradesh, being the biggest state, sends 80 MPs to Lok Sabha and hence grabbing the lion’s share in this state will be BJP’s top priority.
