Chaudhary meets old guard to bolster party unit | Lucknow News
Lucknow: A week after his appointment as the UP BJP chief, Pankaj Chaudhary has begun reaching out to his predecessors and the old guard, in a bid to bolster the organisational command ahead of next year’s panchayat elections and 2027 UP elections.Chaudhary, sources said, plans to meet all former UP BJP presidents and senior party netas who held key organisational positions in the past. On Monday, Chaudhary met former UP BJP chiefs Vinay Katiyar and Swatantra Dev Singh. He has also met former UP Assembly Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit and current speaker Satish Mahana.
“My idea is to engage all senior leaders and gain from their experiences. I want to take everyone along. That’s my style of working,” Chaudhary told TOI. A senior BJP functionary said the new state chief is trying to engage with the senior party leaders to get them in the active command chain while getting a feel of the organisational nuances.Experts said Chaudhary’s outreach to former state presidents signals a strategic attempt to consolidate authority while healing organisational fault lines, if any. The leadership transition has often created parallel power centres in the state BJP, with some former state chiefs exerting influence within their region and the caste based networks. Chaudhary, the fourth Kurmi state president after Katiyar, OP Singh and Swatantra Dev, is learnt to be weighing all option to augment the social coalition – comprising non-Yadav OBCs and non-Jatav SCs – built by the party since its emergence as a political behemoth under PM Narendra Modi.The move is seen as part of a micro-level plan while preparing for the panchayat election which will test BJP’s organisational leadership and the caste/social arithmetic, especially in areas where veteran leaders continue to wield clout. Analysts said that rejuvenating the old guards could also help the party counter anti-incumbency, if any, at the grassroots, besides neutralising the factionalism.Sources said Chaudhary’s approach reflect his acknowledgement that experience, especially in a politically complex state like Uttar Pradesh, remains indispensable.Experts said that the ensuing panchayat polls may serve as a litmus test of Chaudhary’s organisational grip even as the 2027 assembly elections loom as the ultimate benchmark. “By reaching out early, he is signalling an intent to build a broad-based organisational consensus while remaining deeply connected with the party’s central leadership,” said a senior BJP functionary.
