BJP Major Rejig: Nitin Gadkari dropped from Parliamentary Board

National

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have been removed off the BJP’s reconfigured Parliamentary board, the party’s highest decision-making body, in a dramatic organisational reshuffle.

On Wednesday, BJP national president JP Nadda stated that the reformed Parliamentary Board has filled all the vacancies left by the deaths of prominent politicians Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, as well as when Venkaiah Naidu was appointed Vice President of India. 

Nitin Gadkari’s exclusion from the Parliamentary board, which makes important decisions on behalf of the party’s national executive, including on chief ministers and state chiefs, has come as a surprise given that he is a former BJP chief and the party has not yet removed its ex-presidents from decision-making.

The Union Minister for Roads and Transport has also been removed from the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC).

Sarbananda Sonowal, former Chief Minister of Assam and current Ayush Minister, has been named to the Parliamentary Board.

Following the last Assembly elections, Sonowal resigned as Assam’s chief minister, making room for Himanta Biswa Sarma, while Sonowal was appointed as a Cabinet Minister at the Centre.

BS, a seasoned politician from Karnataka, has also joined the party. Yediyurappa resigned as Chief Minister barely a year ago after Basavaraj Bommai was appointed in his place.

Even though, top party officials stated that Yediyurappa would play an active role in the party and that his skills will be actively exploited in the next Karnataka Assembly elections.

Yediyurappa is regarded as one of the most powerful leaders of the Lingayat community, which is politically significant in the Southern state.

K Laxman, a former BJP president from Telangana who is now the party’s OBC Morcha chairman, was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. His selection to the Parliamentary body has been interpreted as a push in Telangana, the southernmost state.

Sudha Yadav, Satyanarayan Jatiya, and Lal Singh Rajpura are also members of the Parliamentary board.
The BJP also issued a list of its Central Election Committee (CEC) members, which includes Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

It is another another achievement for Fadnavis, who was recently named as Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister and was instrumental in restoring the BJP to power in the state.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and a member of the Parliamentary Board and the CEC for the longest time, was removed from the CEC.

Former Bihar minister Shahnawaz Hussain and one of the BJP’s longest-serving members of Parliament Jual Oram were both removed from the party’s Central Executive Committee.

The BJP’s new Parliamentary Board shows how the party appreciates the expertise of its karyakartas. BSY, Satya Narayan Jatia, and K Laxman have committed their life to the party, constructing it brick by brick from the beginning.

There is clearly a focus on diversity. Sarbananda Sonowal is from the NorthEast, L Laxman and BS Yediyurappa are from the South, while Sikh Iqbal Singh Lalpura is from the East.

Sudha Yadav is a political politician who rose to prominence after her husband was killed in fighting at Kargil. Her involvement demonstrates the utmost regard for women and military families.

The representation of the South and NorthEast is at an all-time high.