BJP clears decks to name OBC face Pankaj Chaudhary as UP chief, eyes 2027 elections

A seven-time BJP MP from Maharajganj, 61-year-old Chaudhary is not only seen as a “man of the cadre” but also the party’s face to counter the Opposition Samajwadi Party’s (SP) plank of PDA – or picchda (backward), Dalit and alpsankhyak (minority) – ahead of the UP Assembly elections in 2027.

Chaudhary hails from the Kurmi community, the state’s most prominent non-Yadav Other Backward Class (OBC) group. Kurmis comprise 8% of the state’s OBC population with a significant presence in eastern and central UP.

Chaudhary began his political career at the grassroots level in the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation in late 1980s, before becoming the Gorakhpur Deputy Mayor in the early 1990. His first foray into national politics came in 1991, when he won his debut Lok Sabha election from Maharajganj at the age of 27. Though he launched his career from Gorakhpur, Maharajganj has become his stronghold over the years as he won this parliamentary seat six more times – in 1996, 1998, 2004, 2019 and 2024.

In 2021, after a Union Cabinet reshuffle, Chaudhary was given a Minister of State berth in the Finance Ministry as one of the party’s key OBC leaders ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly elections. After he retained his seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he was again inducted into Modi’s Cabinet.

After the BJP’s dismal performance in UP in last year’s general elections, Chaudhary’s elevation is being seen as the BJP’s attempt to consolidate non-Yadav OBC communities in UP. In addition, his Kurmi background and leadership of the party cadre particularly in eastern UP are indicators of the BJP’s push to recover from the setback caused by the SP in the Lok Sabha elections.

With the Assembly polls approaching, Chaudhary has a big task ahead of him. He will be charged with coordinating with the BJP-led state government and appoint the remaining 14 of the total 98 district and city unit chiefs, besides shaping the party organisation for the 2027 polls.