Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday formally announced Union minister Pankaj Chaudhary as its new Uttar Pradesh unit president, bringing an end to days of speculation over the party’s key organisational post in the state. Chaudhary was elected unopposed, with his name being the only nomination filed for the position.
The official announcement was made at the auditorium of Ram Manohar Lohia University campus in Lucknow in the presence of central election observer and BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, Union minister Piyush Goyal, who was in charge of the state president’s election, and state election officer and former Union minister Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, outgoing state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, state general secretary organisation Dharmapal Singh and several senior leaders attended the event. Following the declaration, Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary handed over the party flag to the newly elected state president. The names of 120 newly elected members of the BJP national council from Uttar Pradesh were also announced.
Addressing party leaders, Piyush Goyal said the BJP’s organisational strength was reflected in the smooth completion of its internal elections, adding that discipline and unity had helped the party maintain its political dominance. The announcement was greeted with loud applause from the gathering.
With Chaudhary’s elevation, the BJP has appointed its 17th state president in Uttar Pradesh. He is the fourth leader from the Kurmi community to hold the post, after Vinay Katiyar, Om Prakash Singh and Swatantra Dev Singh, underlining the party’s continued focus on Other Backward Class leadership in the state.
Chaudhary’s appointment is also being seen as strengthening the influence of Purvanchal within the BJP’s power structure in Uttar Pradesh. Gorakhpur has emerged as a key political centre, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath heading the government and Chaudhary now leading the party organisation.
Born on November 20, 1964, in the Ghantaghar area of Gorakhpur, Pankaj Chaudhary completed his schooling at MP Inter College and graduated from Gorakhpur University. He entered politics in 1989 as a councillor in the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation and later became deputy mayor. His political base in Maharajganj was built with the support of his elder brother, the late Pradeep Chaudhary, the district’s first district panchayat president.
Chaudhary won his first Lok Sabha election in 1991 on a BJP ticket during the Ram temple movement and has since remained closely associated with the Maharajganj constituency. He has lost only twice, in the 1999 and 2009 general elections. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term, he was appointed Minister of State for Finance, a responsibility he retained in the third term as well.
Chaudhary’s election as state BJP president marks a significant organisational shift as the party gears up for upcoming electoral challenges in Uttar Pradesh.
