With the induction of BJP state president Swatantra Dev Singh in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet 2.0, the search for his successor has begun in the ruling party.
Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party indicate that the next state president of the party is likely to be from western Uttar Pradesh.
Former energy minister and MLA from Mathura, Shrikant Sharma, is said to be the front runner for the post. Mathura falls in the Braj region of western UP.
Besides Sharma, there are many contenders for the post including MLAs, MPs and MLCs.
The sources said if a leader has failed to find a berth in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet it does not necessarily mean that the person has been penalised or is being marginalised in the party.
“The BJP is a cadre based party with collective leadership where equal opportunity is given to all,” said a BJP leader, and added, “There are several leaders in the organisation and the government and party will utilise their potential.”
Apart from these, Lok Sabha MP Subrata Pathak, who gave a jolt to the Samajwadi Party's stronghold in Kannauj, and Lok Sabha MP from Basti Harish Dwivedi are also being considered in the race for the post of BJP state president.
However, among all these leaders, Shrikant Sharma is considered to be the front runner as he comes from the Braj region.
During the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Keshari Nath Tripathi was the president of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, while during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections; Ramapati Ram Tripathi was in command of the party in UP.
During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party's Brahmin leader Laxmikant Bajpai, from Meerut, was the party president while during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Mahendra Nath Pandey was the face of the party in UP.
According to a veteran BJP leader, judging by its history of state presidents, the party is likely to elect a Brahmin as its state unit chief this time as well.
Eyeing another saffron surge for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party will elect a strong face who can prove to be helpful in achieving its electoral goals in Uttar Pradesh, which currently has 80 Lok Sabha seats, the highest in the country.
In view of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is also preparing for major changes in Uttar Pradesh. While 22 ministers have been phased out, many important leaders such as Swatantra Dev Singh, party state vice-president Dayashankar Singh and Arvind Sharma, general secretary JPS Rathod and Narendra Kashyap have been made ministers under Yogi Adityanath's leadership.
BJP state general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal is also preparing a report regarding this and only after receiving feedback from different levels of the party, the high command will give a nod to reshuffle the party organisation, including the state president.