Bihar BJP Gets New Leadership To Take On JDU-RJD Machinery In 2024

The Bihar BJP chief, Samrat Choudhary, announced a team of 38 office-bearers for the state unit after four months of taking over the post. The list aims to strike a balance between old and new party members and provides representation across different castes. It is worth noting that the list only includes one Yadav face, indicating a shift in the party's approach towards the community.

The team consists of 12 state vice presidents and 12 state secretaries. Additionally, five state general secretaries have been appointed, as reported by The Indian Express.

Interestingly, the average age of the new BJP team is 45 years, deviating from the conventional norms. Twelve leaders are in their early 40s, with two of them being below 40 years old.

The list of office-bearers includes both veteran leaders and young faces. Prominent figures like former minister Bhim Singh Chandravanshi, former MLA Mithilesh Tiwari, and Jagannath Thakur are included, alongside newcomers such as Guru Prakash Paswan (national spokesperson), Santosh Pathak (state spokesperson), Rajesh Verma, and Shivesh Ram.

The team aims to ensure representation from various communities. It includes seven members from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), consisting of three Vaishyas, two Kushwahas, and one member each from the Kurmi and Yadav communities.

Additionally, there are five members from Economically Backward Castes (EBCs), with one representative from the Kahar, Kumhar, Nonia, Dhanuk, and Nishad communities.

The Scheduled Caste (SC) community is also represented, with one leader each from the Paswan, Ravidas, and Dangi groups. Furthermore, the list includes four Rajputs, three members each from the Bhumihar and Brahmin communities, and one Kayasth leader.

The BJP's core base, which has been cultivated over the years, consists of upper castes and OBCs excluding Yadavs. In recent times, the party has also managed to gain support from some SC communities.

In 2022, with the motive of reaching out to the Yadavs, who are firmly held by the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the Mahagathbandhan alliance led by Nitish Kumar, the party projected Union Minister Nityanand Rai, a prominent Yadav face, as a potential future chief ministerial candidate.

The new state leadership team comprises leaders from various regions across the state, including Buxar, Bhojpur, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Siwan, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Vaishali, Rohtas, East Champaran, Jehanabad, Patna, Saharsa, Gaya, Madgeoura, Purnia, Khagaria, and Gopalganj.

The newly appointed vice-presidents are Siddharth Shambhu, Bhim Singh Chandravanshi, Rajendra Singh, Dhirendra Kumar Singh, Sheela Prajapati, Amrita Bhushan, Rajbhushan Nishad, Lalita Kushwaha, Saroj Ranjan Patel, Nutan Singh (wife of former minister and current MLA Neeraj Singh Bablu), Sanjay Khandelia, and Santosh Pathak. The state general secretaries include Shivesh Ram (son of former MP Muni Lal Ram), Mithilesh Tiwari (former MLA), Jagannath Thakur, Lalan Mandal, and Rajesh Verma.

State secretaries in the BJP include Guru Prakash Paswan, Santosh Ranjan, Ratnesh Kushwaha, Nandlal Chouhan, Priyambada Kesari, Saroj Jha, Trivikram Singh (son of former MP Gopal Narayan Singh), Sanjay Gupta, Reeta Verma, Swadesh Yadav, Anil Thakur, and Amit Dangi.