Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, the BJP’s newest state president is a member of the state’s legislative council and minister for panchayati raj in the Yogi Adityanath government.
This is Chaudhary’s second term as a minister in the government. The ministerial berth was a gift for his control over the Jat votes of western UP- where the BJP did well despite the long-drawn farmer's agitation.
Chaudhary who is known to be close to Home Minister, Amit Shah, has good organizational experience as he has been in charge of western UP from 2011-18. He is a minister who is constantly on the move, checking in on schools, roads and healthcare facilities in rural areas. He also delights in interacting with children- asking them to recite multiplication tables and poems, and heaping high praise in turn.
Born to a family of farmers in 1966, Chaudhary joined the BJP in 1991. He has studied till class 12.
In his only electoral outing he took on Mulayam Singh Yadav, SP founder, from Sambhal in 1999- an election he lost and came in second, polling just over half of what Yadav had got.
Chaudhary’s selection is seen as being acceptable both to the party and the government. Unlike the other names which have been discussed in the past, he does not seek unnecessary attention. Shrikant Sharma, the former minister of energy who was in the race for the post lost out due to his penchant for staying in the limelight. Keshav Prasad Maurya- another strong contender would not have been acceptable to Yogi Adityanath- especially as it was Maurya was tipped to be CM in 2017. Dinesh Sharma- former deputy CM was another one whose name was doing the rounds, but Sharma is seen as ineffectual.
Not one to mince words against political opponents, Chaudhary had said that if the BJP storms to power in the 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections, Asaduddin Owaisi
(President of the AIMIM) would be forced to wear a jeneu (sacred thread) and chant ‘Ram Ram’. He had also taken on the SP, saying that its obstinate attitude had cost it the elections.
Chaudhary had very recently said that the BJP was in election mode all 365 days.
It will now be on him to implement that.
