The Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced new district presidents for five more districts, including Varanasi and Gorakhpur Mahanagar, as part of an organizational reshuffle. With these changes, the party has now replaced all its presidents in the 98 organizational districts, a significant move ahead of the assembly elections scheduled for early next year.
Key Appointments in Five Districts
In Varanasi, the party replaced Hansraj Vishwakarma with Ram Sakal Patel, a Kurmi. Vishwakarma was inducted into the council of ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government earlier this month. In Gorakhpur Mahanagar, Ramesh Gupta was appointed in place of Rajesh Gupta.
In Ambedkarnagar, Triyambak Tiwari, a Brahmin, was replaced by Dilip Dev Patel, also a Kurmi. The party decided to retain Kashinath Singh, a Thakur, as the district president of Chandauli. In Deoria, Bhupendra Singh was replaced by Kali Prasad, a Dalit who won the Salempur assembly seat in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections.
Significance of the Reshuffle
This organizational overhaul is seen as a strategic move by the UP BJP to strengthen its grassroots presence and caste equations ahead of the upcoming assembly polls. The appointments reflect an effort to balance caste representation, with Kurmis and Dalits being given key positions in several districts.
