BJP sets in motion organisational rejig in U.P. - Hindustan Times
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BJP sets in motion organisational rejig in U.P.

Aug 10, 2022 11:11 PM IST

Dharampal appointed new state general secretary (organisation), Sunil Bansal elevated as national general secretary in-charge of West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership on Wednesday set in motion the process of an organisational rejig in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), replacing party’s hugely successful general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal with Dharampal, a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) pracharak and other backward classes (OBC) leader.

Dharampal, a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) pracharak and other backward classes (OBC) leader hails from Bijnor in west U.P. has been appointed new state general secretary (organisation) of BJP. (file)
Dharampal, a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) pracharak and other backward classes (OBC) leader hails from Bijnor in west U.P. has been appointed new state general secretary (organisation) of BJP. (file)

Dharampal belongs to Bijnor in west U.P. and has an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) background. Bansal has been elevated as the party new national general secretary and handed the responsibility of three politically challenging states —West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana — ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Dharampal, party leaders said, too would have to hit the ground running as the BJP looks to continue its winning streak in Uttar Pradesh, which is crucial to the party’s bid to score a hat-trick of wins at the Centre.

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The party is also all set to name a new state chief. That announcement would be followed by appointments of state and district level party functionaries to get the party ready for 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

There is much speculation on who the party would now choose for the state chief’s position.

“The OBC focus of the party has been repeatedly stressed and now it remains to be seen if the party will go for an OBC leader as the state chief again or pick a Dalit or an upper caste leader,” a party functionary said.

Since 2014, the BJP has had an upper caste state chief for the Lok Sabha polls (Laxmikant Bajpai in 2014 and Mahendra Nath Pandey in 2019).

It had OBC state chiefs ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections (Keshav Prasad Maurya in 2017 and Swatantra Dev Singh in 2022).

“Two Union ministers of state are said to be in contention for the state chief’s post, but unless the announcement is made, nothing can be said for sure,” a party leader said.

The development of a new state general secretary (organisation) in U.P. coincided with the party elevating deputy chief minister and prominent OBC leader Keshav Prasad Maurya as the leader of the state legislative council.

This move came just ahead of the announcement of the likely successor to state BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh, an OBC (kurmi) leader, who is now the Jalshakti minister in the Yogi government 2.0.

Dharampal, associated with the RSS student wing ABVP, held positions of regional general secretary (organisation) in U.P. and Uttarakhand and organisational secretary positions in Uttarakhand, Braj and west UP regions.

He had taken over as BJP general secretary (organisation) in Jharkhand in 2017, where he is credited with helping fashion the party’s wins in municipal councils and zila parishads for the first time.

“He has also been associated with the 2020 Bihar assembly elections and the 2021 Assam Vidhan Sabha polls in which the BJP had emerged triumphant,” a BJP leader said. Karamveer, who was the co-organisation secretary in U.P., will now replace Dharampal in Jharkhand.

After his elevation as the new national general secretary in BJP national president JP Nadda’s team, Sunil Bansal has been tasked with the responsibilities of West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana. He has been made state in-charge there.

“So now, in a way, it is a formal entry from the RSS to the the BJP fulltime for Bansal, who is credited with executing the political script to perfection. When Amit Shah brought him to U.P, he delivered by executing the leadership’s plan. That is why he has been given more testing assignments and a good show for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls in these states would raise his profile further. The BJP has hopes in West Bengal where its graph has been growing and in Odisha and Telangana, the other unconquered BJP territories, the party has set an aggressive, ambitious target,” a BJP leader said.

IMPORTANCE OF STATE GENERAL SECRETARY (ORGANISATION) IN BJP

The role of mahamantri sangathan or the state general (organisation) is important in the Bharatiya Janata Party. That’s because the post holders are RSS pracharaks who get appointed in the BJP and play the role of a bridge between the Sangh and the government.

“No crucial organisational decision is taken without the post holder on board and (it) goes without saying that the person holding the position wields considerable clout,” a party leader added.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Manish Chandra Pandey is a Lucknow-based Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times’ political bureau in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Along with political reporting, he loves to write offbeat/human interest stories that people connect with. Manish also covers departments. He feels he has a lot to learn not just from veterans, but also from newcomers who make him realise that there is so much to unlearn.

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