Farmers Movement Archive

Yogi, Dy CMs, UP chief in BJP poll panel

Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, deputy CMs Keshav Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and state general secretary (organization) Sunil Bansal were the key leaders in the 19-member state election committee which was announced by the party on Wednesday. While inclusion of Yogi is seen as yet another endorsement of his leadership under which the BJP plans to take on the opposition in the upcoming state elections, Keshav Maurya’s inclusion is believed to be a step to send a larger message to the MBC community which plays a crucial role in elections. The BJP has attempted to strike a caste and regional balance in the panel by including prominent leaders who represent different regions of the state. The party has given a fresh traction to its strategy to woo Dalits by including former Uttarakhand governor and party national vice-president Baby Rani Maurya who happens to be a Jatav, a Dalit sub-caste to which BSP chief Mayawati belongs. Likewise, Agra MP and Union minister of state for law SP Singh Baghel and Kaushambi MP Vinod Sonkar have also been included in the panel. The party has also given adequate representation to the leaders from the Brahmin community, which has traditionally been voting for the party. Besides Dinesh Sharma, the committee also includes former UP BJP chief and Deoria MP Ramapati Ram Tripathi, and UP law minister Brajesh Pathak. Other prominent members include Union state minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Etah MP Rajveer Singh. Jyoti represents Nishad community which is being aggressively wooed by the BJP to consolidate its position in east UP. Rajveer Singh is the son of late CM Kalyan Singh. His inclusion in the state election committee is also perceived as BJP’s attempt to escalate its foot prints in the Lodh community among the OBC, especially in the west UP region. Similarly, Sanjiv Baliyan, BJP MP from Muzaffarnagar and junior minister in the minister of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, also figures in the state election committee. A Jat, Baliyan could wheel in necessary ground level feedback vis-a-vis west UP which came under influence of the raging farmer protest against the three farm laws, which were eventually repealed by the Centre last year. BJP MLC and state general secretary Ashwini Tyagi, who has been keeping tabs on west UP politics, has also found a place in the committee. BJP national vice-president and UP in charge Radha Mohan Singh, joint in charge Sanjeev Chaurasiya, Sunil Ojha and Y Satya Kumar have been included as the special invitee. President of UP BJP women wing Geeta Shakya is the ex officio member of the committee.

The Times of India

2022-01-06

Lucknow