UP BJP chief breakthrough soon, choice narrows down to Dalit, OBC or Brahmin
As per sources, the frontrunners are an MLC and former MP from eastern UP who is a Dalit leader, a senior Brahmin office-bearer from the Gandhi family pocketborough of Amethi, and a Rajya Sabha MP and Nishad face.
Those pushing for a Dalit leader see it as a way to arrest the shift to the Samajwadi Party (SP) shown by the community in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when the Opposition successfully built a narrative that a powerful BJP government may change the Constitution. A leader pointed to the drop in the BJP's Lok Sabha tally in UP from 2019's 62 to 33 — a big factor in the party falling short of a majority at the Centre.
The BJP leaders who want to see a Brahmin at the top believe the party needs to win back a community that has been loyal to it. A party leader said Brahmins now feel 'sidelined' in the party. Of the 15 BJP UP presidents since it was formed in 1980, seven have been Brahmins, including Madhav Prasad Tripathi, Kalraj Mishra, Kesari Nath Tripathi, Rama Ram Pati Tripathi, Laxmi Kant Bajpai and Mahendra Nath Pandey.
The argument for picking an MBC leader is that it is the safest choice, given that the BJP has been steadily building its base among the larger OBC group. The party's current state chief, Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, is Jat and headed the party during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, a Kurmi leader, Swantantra Dev Singh, headed the BJP, when it won the 2022 Assembly elections in the state.
Before that, in 2017, the BJP came to power in UP under Keshav Prasad Maurya, another OBC leader, as state chief. After Maurya was made the Deputy Chief Minister, Mahendra Nath Pandey took over as president, in a balancing of the caste equations.
Right now, in Yogi Adityanath, the BJP has a Thakur as CM, which means the state president is unlikely to be a Rajput.
The election of state BJP chiefs is one of the first steps towards the selection of the new national party president of the party. The BJP has so far announced new party chiefs for 15 of its 37 state units across the country. A new national party president can be picked once at least 19 state chiefs are elected. Apart from UP, the presidents of other key state units such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are also yet to be elected.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
27 minutes ago
- NDTV
Comparing Siddaramaiah To Mysuru Maharaja Is Far-Fetched: Ex-Royal BJP MP
Bengaluru: In what has turned into a "royal" war of words, BJP MP and titular Maharaja of Mysuru, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, has strongly objected to Yathindra Siddaramaiah's recent comparison of his father, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, to Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, the revered former Maharaja of the Mysore Kingdom. "Apart from the funds allocated during Siddaramaiah's earlier tenure, Mysuru hasn't received significant funding. Our government has undertaken as much, if not more, development than during Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar's era," Mr Yathindra had earlier said. Responding to this statement, Mr Yaduveer told NDTV that the comparison was "completely far-fetched" and disconnected from reality. "Every politician will naturally engage in politics and attempt to consolidate power there's nothing unusual about that," Mr Yaduveer said. "But personally, I feel that comparing today's government to the era of Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar is simply unjustifiable. There's no comparison." He cited rising inflation, widespread price hikes, and a complete lack of fresh developmental activity as key indicators that the present government is falling short. "The Sadhana Samavesha itself was merely a repackaging of existing schemes, many of them belonging to the previous BJP government or the central government. Even in the 2025 Budget, the same trend continued," he said. Mr Yaduveer also highlighted the Rs 300 crore Mysuru Airport expansion project, asserting that it had already been sanctioned during the previous Basavaraj Bommai government, and accused the Congress administration of falsely claiming credit. Referring to his constituency, particularly rural Kodagu, he said no new road projects were being taken up and existing roads remained neglected. "The recent rains have only made the poor condition of the roads more visible. People are seeing for themselves the lack of any tangible development," he remarked.
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
'We will do it together': Rahul Gandhi greets Uddhav Thackeray on INDIA bloc ally's birthday; vows to 'protect' Maharashtra's rights
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday extended birthday greetings to Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray, who turned 65. In a post on X, He wished the Maharashtra ex-chief minister a "long and healthy life" and reaffirmed their commitment to work together for the "interests and rights" of the people of the state. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Both leaders are key allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — an alliance of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) in Maharashtra. At the national level, these parties are also members of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties. "Warm wishes and congratulations to Shiv Sena President and INDIA alliance partner Uddhav Thackeray ji on his birthday," the Lok Sabha leader of opposition said in a post in Hindi on X. Rahul Gandhi X post "May you stay healthy, live long, and we will fight together for the interests and rights of the people of Maharashtra," he added. Gandhi's message comes at a time when as Thackeray to the latter's estranged cousin Raj Thackeray, who leads the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. The Congress MP has also that the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition's big win in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections was due to 'electoral fraud' — a claim firmly denied by the Election Commission.
NDTV
41 minutes ago
- NDTV
Over 14,000 Men Received Money Under Maharashtra's 'Ladki Bahin' Scheme
Mumbai: Over 14,000 men fraudulently received financial benefits under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, a scheme explicitly meant for economically disadvantaged women in Maharashtra. The scheme, which was launched last year, promises Rs 1,500 per month to women aged between 21 and 65 years whose families earn less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually. Its rollout, timed just months before the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, became a key instrument of the Mahayuti coalition, led by the BJP and supported by factions of the Shiv Sena and NCP, to attract voters. An audit conducted by the Women and Child Development Department (WCD) has uncovered that Rs 21.44 crore was disbursed to 14,298 men, who, by manipulating the online registration system, managed to register themselves as female beneficiaries. This misuse came to light nearly 10 months after the scheme's launch. "Ladki Bahin scheme was launched to help poor women. There is absolutely no reason why men should be its beneficiaries. We will recover the money given to them. If they do not cooperate, further action will be taken," Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said. The fraudulent inclusion of men in the beneficiary list is only one part of the problem. According to the same WCD report, the scheme has incurred an estimated loss of Rs 1,640 crore in its first year due to large-scale ineligible enrollments. The largest misuse stemmed from over 7.97 lakh women who enrolled as third members from the same family. The scheme, however, explicitly restricts benefits to a maximum of two women per household. This violation alone cost the exchequer Rs 1,196 crore. Another irregularity involves 2.87 lakh women over the age of 65 receiving benefits, even though the age ceiling for eligibility is fixed at 65 years. The state lost approximately Rs 431.7 crore due to these overage beneficiaries. Further, 1.62 lakh women from households that own four-wheelers were also found on the beneficiary rolls. According to the scheme's terms, such families do not qualify for financial assistance. The findings have sparked criticism and demands for wider investigation. "How did these men fill the forms? Who helped them? Which company was given the contract for registrations? There's a bigger conspiracy behind this. The company should be investigated, and the matter should be probed by an SIT or the ED," said NCP MP Supriya Sule. In December 2024, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a comprehensive review of the scheme. In January this year, WCD Minister Aditi Tatkare publicly committed to corrective action. By February, the names of 5 lakh ineligible beneficiaries had been removed from the system. मुख्यमंत्री माझी लाडकी बहीण योजनेअंतर्गत पात्र ठरलेल्या सर्व अर्जांची ओळख पटवण्यासाठी महिला व बालविकास विभागाने शासनाच्या सर्व विभागांकडून माहिती मागवली होती. यानुसार माहिती व तंत्रज्ञान विभागाने सुमारे २६.३४ लाख लाभार्थी अपात्र असताना देखील लाडकी बहीण योजनेचा लाभ घेत असल्याची… — Aditi S Tatkare (@iAditiTatkare) July 26, 2025 "The Department of Women and Child Development had sought information from all government departments to verify the eligibility of all applications. Accordingly, the Information and Technology Department reported that approximately 26.34 lakh beneficiaries, despite being ineligible, were availing benefits of the scheme. It has been found that some beneficiaries were availing the benefits of multiple schemes, some families had more than two beneficiaries, and in some cases, men had applied for the scheme. Based on this information, starting from June 2025, the benefits for these 26.34 lakh applicants have been temporarily suspended. Additionally, approximately 2.25 crore eligible beneficiaries of the scheme have been disbursed the honorarium for the month of June 2025," WCD Minister Aditi Tatkare said.
