Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya congratulated Pankaj Chaudhary on his appointment as the new president of the Uttar Pradesh BJP on Sunday. Maurya emphasized that under Chaudhary’s leadership, BJP members must commit to achieving a larger mandate in the upcoming 2027 Assembly elections, aiming to surpass their 2017 achievement of winning 312 out of 403 seats.
Chaudhary, a leader from the Kurmi community, takes the helm as the BJP’s first Kurmi president in the state. Maurya, who also belongs to the OBC community, urged party workers to challenge the “fake PDA call” initiated by the Samajwadi Party, which promotes an alliance of backward classes, Dalits, and minorities.
While expressing full support for Chaudhary, Maurya noted that the recent defeat of the SP-Congress alliance signals the need for the BJP to focus on winning in Uttar Pradesh. He also stressed the importance of success in the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal, scheduled for early next year.
During the event, attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior leaders, Maurya rallied supporters to chant, “Baki sab kuch jaiye bhul, yaad rakhiye mannaniya Narendra Modi aur Kamal ka phool,” which translates to “Forget everything and remember Narendra Modi and the lotus flower.” The lotus symbolizes the BJP in elections.
Chaudhary, a prominent figure from Uttar Pradesh’s non-Yadav OBC community, began his political journey in the late 1980s within the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation before serving as the Deputy Mayor. He entered national politics in 1991 when he won his first Lok Sabha election from Maharajganj at just 27. Over the years, he solidified his stronghold in Maharajganj, successfully winning this parliamentary seat six additional times-in 1996, 1998, 2004, 2019, and 2024.
In 2021, following a cabinet reshuffle, Chaudhary was appointed as a Minister of State in the Finance Ministry, highlighting his significance as a key OBC leader ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly elections. After retaining his parliamentary seat in the 2024 elections, he was once again inducted into Prime Minister Modi’s Cabinet.
Original Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/with-kurmi-leader-at-top-maurya-says-time-to-punch-holes-in-sps-pda-claim-10420836/
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Publish Date: 2025-12-15 10:03:00
