Speculations Over Next BJP President Of UP As Swatantra Dev Singh Resigns

The president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state unit in Uttar Pradesh, Swatantra Dev Singh has resigned from his post.

According to Aaj Tak, he has become the third person to complete three-year tenure as BJP state president. He occupied the position on 19 July 2019 and his term ended on 16 July this year.

Prior to him, former chief minister of UP Kalyan Singh and Rajasthan governor Kalraj Mishra have been able to serve this post for six years each.

Singh is also Jal Shakti Minister in the UP cabinet. He was recognised as the leader of the UP Legislative Council in May by replacing former deputy CM Dinesh Sharma.

Recently, Singh came into the news when Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Dinesh Khatik resigned and it was alleged that this is due to poor coordination within the department. However, Khatik returned to work yesterday as issues were sorted.

Aaj Tak's sources suggest that BJP will get a new state president within three days, i.e. by 30 July. BJP is also organising a state-level training of party workers in Chitrakoot between 29 and 31 July and the new president can be decided during this meet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath have been invited to this three-day camp, along with ministers. News reports suggest a range of names from a youth face to OBC, from a Brahmin to a Dalit for the post.

According to Aaj Tak Dinesh Sharma is the forerunner in this race, while Zee News suggests the name of the Union Minister of State B L Verma. He is a Rajya Sabha MP and hails from Badaun. He is an OBC and Lodha by caste and is believed to have been close to Kalyan Singh.

Another leader in the race is Bhupendra Chaudhary who is a Cabinet Minister in the UP government. He is a member of the state Legislative Council and is believed to have a good hold over the Jat community.

Another Cabinet Minister of the UP government, Dharmpal Singh is being considered. Minister of State Sanjeev Balyan can also get a chance. Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya is also believed to be in the race.

Among the Brahmin faces, the names of Subrat Pathak, Harish Dwivedi, Dinesh Upadhyay, Govind Narayan Shukla and Braj Bahadur Sharma are under the discussion.

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