The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made CP Joshi the president of the party's Rajasthan unit. In Bihar, the party made Legislative Council leader of opposition Samrat Chaudhury the president of the BJP's state unit replacing Sanjay Jaiswal. BJP president J P Nadda also appointed Manmohan Samal, a former state minister, as the head of the party's Odisha unit, while Delhi working president Virendra Sachdeva was elevated as its chief.
CP Joshi to replace Satish Punia
The 47-year-old Joshi is a two-time MP from Chittorgarh and is to replace Satish Punia, who was given an extension by the party after his tenure was over in December last year. A hardcore Sangh Parivar loyalist, Joshi was the head of Yuva Morcha and currently holds the post of vice-president in the party.
Joshi’s appointment is being taken as a bid to end the factionalism in the party and is expected to be accepted by all as he is in none of the factions of the organisation.
Former CM congratulates Joshi
Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, a strong contender for the face of chief minister in the coming elections, congratulated Joshi on his appointment and sent her best wishes. Punia also welcomed the party’s decision and said he will continue to serve the party as a worker. Deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathor has also congratulated Joshi.
Bihar's Samrat Chaudhury had been a RJD man since he entered politics and was minister in Cabinet of Rabri Devi in 1999. In 2013, Samrat had left RJD with 12 other MLAs and joined the JDU when Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP. Later, Samrat left the JDU and joined BJP. He became minister in the JDU-BJP government and was given the panchayati raj ministry till the BJP was removed from the alliance by Kumar in August 2022 when RJD rejoined the Grand Alliance.
Sachdeva is an organisational person in the party
In Odisha, Samal, a former MP, is one of the better known BJP faces and is seen to bring more heft than his predecessor Samir Mohanty, political watchers said. Sachdeva in Delhi has been impressive in his short stint as the party's state working president following the removal of Adesh Gupta from the helm. He is low-key and an organisational person who has been able to infuse a sense of cohesion in the state unit.
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