UNION MINISTER OF STATE TO BECOME BJP UP PRESIDENT

Pankaj Chaudhary is MP from Maharajganj, is an OBC and is seen as a seasoned, grassroots leader, who is also a loyal party worker.

- TIKAM SHARMA

Union Minister of State for Finance and Maharajganj MP Pankaj Chaudhary is set to take over as the new president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttar Pradesh unit, with the contest for the party's top organisational post in the state now effectively settled. Chaudhary has emerged as the lone aspirant after no other senior leader filed nomination papers within the stipulated deadline, making his elevation a virtual certainty.

With no competing nominations, party leaders and observers alike view Chaudhary's appointment as a formality. According to BJP sources, the official announcement is expected on Sunday, bringing closure to a closely watched internal process that has drawn wide attention across political circles in Uttar Pradesh.

Chaudhary filed his nomination in Lucknow in the presence of senior BJP leaders, a gesture widely interpreted as a signal of strong organisational backing. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, senior leader Mahendra Nath Pandey, and former Union Minister Smriti Irani were present, underscoring the broad consensus behind his candidature.