Lucknow — In a major organisational development, the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has officially announced its new state working committee. The announcement sets the stage for the upcoming crucial committee meetings to be chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Lucknow on October 30 and 31.
The newly formed committee is expansive, featuring 30 permanent invitees, 548 core committee members, and 134 special invitees. The list of 30 permanent invitees reflects a blend of the party’s top brass and seasoned veterans from the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, naturally feature on the list of permanent invitees. They are joined by several heavyweight political figures, prominently including former Union Ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Smriti Irani, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and veteran leader Vinay Katiyar.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, former national president Murli Manohar Joshi, and several serving Union Ministers such as BL Verma, Kamlesh Paswan, Jitin Prasada, SP Singh Baghel, and Kirti Vardhan Singh are also enlisted as permanent invitees. The committee incorporates key state figures and former UP BJP presidents including Surya Pratap Shahi, Laxmikant Bajpai, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Swatantra Dev Singh, and the incumbent Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary.
Representation across diverse social groups has also been actively factored in, with OBC Morcha president Amarpal Maurya and Minority Morcha president Basit Ali securing permanent spots.
Interestingly, Sinod Shakya, who recently joined the Samajwadi Party, found his name on the BJP’s list of 548 regular working committee members, causing a mild political stir.
The roster of 134 special invitees brings in a mix of ministers, spokespersons, and popular public figures. Key special invitees include UP Minister Baby Rani Maurya, national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, prominent state minister Nand Gopal Nandi, Suresh Khanna, actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan, Sakshi Maharaj, Shrikant Sharma, Siddharth Nath Singh, and Shalabh Mani Tripathi.
The extensive reshuffle and the massive committee structure are being widely viewed as strategic preparations by the ruling party to consolidate its organisational base in Uttar Pradesh ahead of future political contests.