Organisational reshuffle: In 8 Uttar Pradesh picks of BJP 3.0, pitch for PDA + women

BJP president Nitin Nabin. (PTI Photo, Enhanced using AI) 5 min readLucknowAug 18, 2026 07:20 AM IST First published on: Aug 18, 2026 at 07:20 AM IST With Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections around the corner, BJP national president Nitin Nabin has inducted eight office-bearers from the state — one more than the outgoing team – with two representatives each in the groups of vice-presidents, general secretaries, secretaries, and presidents of two party cells or morchas. Besides inducting high-profile former MP from Amethi Smriti Irani, Nabin has appointed Assam party in-charge Harish Dwivedi as one of the eight general secretaries. While retaining former MP Rekha Verma and Tariq Mansoor as national vice-presidents, the party president has appointed sitting MPs Bhola Singh, a Dalit, and Sangeeta Yadav as national secretaries.The eight picks from UP in the party’s central team signal the party president’s effort to obstruct the Opposition’s efforts to wean away the support of Dalits and Most Backward Classes, and at the same time neutralise any effort to create chinks in the party’s Upper Caste vote bank.

The new Brahmin face Harish Dwivedi’s elevation to the national team comes in the backdrop of the BJP dropping Rajya Sabha MP Laxmikant Bajpai — a veteran leader and another prominent Brahmin face — who was serving as the party’s national vice-president till now. The two-term former MP from Basti, who lost in the last Lok Sabha election, was given the charge of the Rajasthan local body polls last week. “Dwivedi is Brahmin and an active leader. His appointment holds importance amid reports that there was simmering anger over the new UGC regulations. After the party’s defeat in the Bankipur bypoll in Bihar (to Prashant Kishor), the leadership believed that distress among the upper castes over the UGC regulations was one of the key factors behind its loss. And now, the party is wary of similar repercussions in UP,” said a senior BJP leader on Dwivedi’s elevation.

The UGC regulations, notified in January this year, were meant to address discrimination, including caste-based prejudice, in higher education institutions. However, they triggered protests and calls for their withdrawal among sections of mostly upper-caste students. The Supreme Court later stayed the regulations. Bid to counter Opp’s narrative To blunt the Opposition Samajwadi Party’s PDA (Pichchda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) pitch, Nabin has appointed Rajya Sabha member Amarpal Maurya as the national president of OBC morcha in a move to strengthen the party’s grip over the OBCs in the state. UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya belongs to the same caste, while the party also has an alliance with Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, and Nishad Party — with an aim to consolidate other prominent OBC caste groups. Another significant appointment from UP is Kunwar Basit Ali, who is now the national president of BJP’s minority morcha. Till now, he was serving as the state president of UP BJP minority morcha, and had earlier served on various party posts from head of mandals to district units. He belongs to the Muslim Rajput community, one believed to have cordial relations with Hindus. “His appointment may be a step to pacify the Muslims who are upset with the bulldozer action in UP. If they get united behind a single party such as the SP, BSP or Congress, it will create a challenge for the BJP. By appointing a UP Muslim at the top level, the BJP has sent a positive message in our community,” said a Muslim leader from the party. When asked about his appointment, Basit Ali told The Indian Express, “I will work following the vision and policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I will focus on increasing the trust of Muslims in the BJP, and get them associated with the party.” Another prominent Muslim face, Prof Tariq Mansoor, has been retained as the national vice-president in the BJP’s new team. A professor and former vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Mansoor has been seen as part of the BJP’s efforts to reach sections of the Muslim community, particularly its Pasmanda section. Bhola Singh, a three-term Dalit MP from Bulandshahr, who represents another electorally tested face from western UP, has been made secretary along with Sangeeta Yadav, a Rajya Sabha member and former MLA from Chauri-Chaura in Gorakhpur. The party has also made Rekha Verma national vice-president. The two-term former MP from Dhaurahra has direct electoral experience with victories in 2014 and 2019, though she narrowly lost in 2024. Her elevation gives the BJP another woman leader familiar with the electoral dynamics of central UP.