Pankaj Chaudhary is the new Uttar Pradesh chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), announced Union Minister Piyush Goyal in presence of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and hundreds of workers. The change comes around a little over a year before the crucial 2027 assembly elections in the politically important state.
Among the attendees were Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak. Chaudhary filed his nomination on Saturday and was the sole candidate in the fray. He had submitted his papers to former Union minister and BJP state election officer Mahendra Nath Pandey and central election observer Vinod Tawde.
A host of leaders including Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh were present during the filing of the nomination.
Reacting to the announcement, Minister Danish Azad Ansari called it a historic day. “The vision of Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to develop and progress the state will be brought to ground reality with the support and effort of our new party president. In 2027, we will once again form a government in the state with a complete majority…” he said.
Who is Pankaj Chaudhary?
A strong name in Uttar Pradesh politics, Pankaj Chaudhary is a seven-time Lok Sabha MP from the Maharajganj constituency.
Chaudhary belongs to the Kurmi community, categorised under Other Backwards Classes (OBC). He is believed to be a close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
His name was proposed by CM Yogi Adityanath, and backed by Deputy CMs and several senior leaders including former Union Minister Smriti Irani, Suresh Khanna, Swantantra Dev Singh and others.
Why is Pankaj Chaudhary crucial for BJP?
Many political analysts believe that Pankaj Chaudhary’s new role is crucial as the state is going for the local bodies elections soon, followed by assembly elections in 2027.
Being a seven-time MP, Chaudhary holds strong command in the Maharajganj region, and is a key face of the OBC face in the state, a critical vote bank for the saffron party. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a significant vote share from Kurmi community went in Samajwadi Party’s favour, which the BJP is planning to attract again.
Also, as the BJP maintains, the announcement is a symbol of the party’s commitment to promoting work and workers, and hence a seven-time MP has been chosen for the top party post in Uttar Pradesh.