Arvind Kumar Sharma THE BJP on Saturday named bureaucrat-turned-politician A K Sharma as the vice-president of its Uttar Pradesh unit, as part of an organisational reshuffle ahead of the coming Assembly elections. The party also named new heads for different morchas in the state, ensuring that different regions and castes got representation.
The UP BJP unit now has two new general secretaries, Archana Mishra from Lucknow and Amit Valmiki from Bulandshahr district. Mishra is currently the general secretary of the Mahila Morcha.
Sharma, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, only recently became an MLC member and has been taking care of the Covid situation and requirements in and around Modi’s constituency Varanasi. He belongs to Mau in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Sharma tweeted “many thanks to National and State Leadership of the party”, adding, “Under the guidance of seniors and with support of fellow workers, I would be in service of society, state and the country.”
Sources said for head of morchas, importance was given to leaders who have served in organisational posts. Sources say appointment of heads of these morchas was one of the issues flagged by party leaders during the recent visit of senior leaders from Delhi. The senior leaders, led by B L Santhosh, had also been apprised of appointments for heads of commissions. In the past two days, the significant posts of Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Commission for Other Backward Class have been filled.
Pranshudatt Dwivedi from Farrukhabad, a state secretary, has been named the chief of the BJP Yuva Morcha. Rajya Sabha MP and old organisational hand Geeta Shakya, an OBC leader from Auraiya, is the new chief of the Mahila Morcha. Kameshwar Singh from Gorakhpur, who is considered close to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and is a state secretary, will now head the party’s Kisan Morcha. Kameshwar had started his political career from the ABVP and has been in the BJP Yuva Morcha as well as a member of the state working committee.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Narendra Kashyap from Ghaziabad is the new chief of the Backward Class Morcha of the party. Kashyap, who was a BSP Rajya Sabha MP, joined the BJP ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls. His appointment comes at a time when BJP ally the NISHAD Party is sulking and has been demanding ministerial posts. The NISHAD party claims to represent fishermen and boatsmen, the same community to which Kashyap belongs.
Mohanganj MP Kaushal Kishore has been named chief of the BJP SC Morcha. Incidentally, during the peak of the Covid second wave, Kishore was among the leaders who had complained about lack of management and preparations to handle the crisis. The Lok Sabha MP was among the leaders with whom the Delhi leaders met one-on-one during their visit.
Sanjay Gond from Gorakhpur is the new chief of the ST Morcha, while Kunwar Basit Ali from Meerut will now head the party’s Minority Morcha.
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