Getting into proactive election mode, the BJP appointed Hindu hardliner and an OBC, Keshav Prasad Maurya as the chief of UP unit while former Chief Minister, BS Yeddyurappa and Union minister and a Dalit, Vijay Sampla were asked to lead the party in Karnataka and and Punjab respectively. While Assembly polls are scheduled in UP and Punjab next year, Karnataka will go to the hustings in 2018.
In UP, the selection of Maurya seems to be a tactical move to woo Backwards into the party by propping up an OBC. For the last several years, members of the upper castes have been appointed as state chiefs. A Backward to have been appointed a state BJP chief was Vinay Katiyar between 2002 and 2004. The feat was never repeated in UP after 2004.
Starting off as a VHP activist, Maurya replaces Meerut legislator Dr laxmikant Bajpai and is expected to take charge onApril 10.
The decision to appoint Maurya as BJP state chief was sudden and caught even leaders and cadres unawares as he was not a prominent face in the party.
Maurya won the Assembly polls from Sirathu (Kaushambi) in 2012 after unsuccessfully contesting from the Allahabad West seat in 2002 and 2007. However in the 2014 lok Sabha polls, Maurya managed to ride the Modi wave and emerged victor from Phulpur (Allahabad) with a record margin of over five lakh votes.
Incidentally, the BJP had won Sirathu Assembly segment and Phulpur Parliamentary seat for the first time. But after Keshav Prasad vacated the seat and successfully contested the lok Sabha polls from Phulpur, the party lost in the bye-elections to the Sirathu seat.
In a telephonic conversation with the The Pioneer, Maurya said, "I am a disciplined soldier of BJP. I have been asked to lead the party into the Assembly elections and I will ensure that my party gets a majority and forms the next government in UP.”
Maurya started off as a VHP `pracharak’ for trans-Ganga and trans-Yamun areas of Allahabad for 18 years. His graduation to politics was violent and he was arrested once in a murder case but police failed to prove the charges in court. In fact, the new BJP state chief happens to have a dossier of 11 criminal cases against him which has provided ammunition to the rival parties.
When asked in this context, Keshav Prasad Maurya admitted, “Yes, there are criminal cases against me. But these are not cases of personal enmity or for my personal gains. These are political cases where I fought with police or administration for ensuring people’s rights.”
“Even today, I promise that wherever a BJP worker sees something wrong, I will lead a protest against the government. And if the government lodges more cases against me, I will not be scared,” he said.
However, Maurya did not want to discuss the caste equation. “The fact remains that I am born in a Backward Caste family. I leave the rest of the analysis to the media,” he said.
The new BJP chief had a humble beginning. His father Shyam lal ran a tea shop in Kasaya village in Sirathhu. In his early days, he assisted his father in running the tea stall. But then there was a draqstic turn of events. His rags to riches story became the tale of Kaushambi. Maurya and his wife now own a petrol pump, agro-trading company and Kamdhenu logistics and is also partner in Jeevan-Jyoti hospital in Allahabad.
Meanwhile in Karnatraka, Yeddyurappa, a prominent lingayat leader, who was removed as CM on corruption charges, had floated his own party before the last Assembly polls. Now he returns to the helm of affairs in the state BJP which is looking to replace Congress from the power corridors.
Reacting to his appointment, Yeddyurappa said that his priority would be to bring back BJP to power as people are 'fed up' with the 'corrupt' Congress government.
He has actively campaigned on issues like Ram temple and cow protection.
Elsewhere in Punjab, Sampla’s appointment is aimed at winning over the Dalit votes, where the community is almost one-third of the total voters. The BJP is an ally of Akali Dal and shares power in the state.
Besdiesm the BJP party also announced K laxman and Tapir Gao as the new chiefs of Telangana and Arunachal Pradesh units. laxman is presently its leader in the Assembly while Gao is a former lok Sabha member. With Friday’sappointments, the party has declared new presidents in most states but is yet to announce chiefs for six others, including Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi.