Hardliner Katiyar may be BJP’s new face in UP

The BJP appears to be trying to play both the religion and caste cards in its choice for the next president of the Uttar Pradesh party unit:...

The BJP appears to be trying to play both the religion and caste cards in its choice for the next president of the Uttar Pradesh party unit: former Bajrang Dal chief and BJP MP Vinay Katiyar is likely to slip into Kalraj Mishra’s shoes.

Katiyar’s name was cleared for the post at a meeting between party president K Jana Krishnamurthi and RSS joint general secretary Madan Das Devi, who’s in charge of BJP-related affairs, today, sources told The Indian Express.

Krishnamurthi’s meeting with Madan Das came after consultations with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani, added the sources. A former RSS pracharak, Katiyar, 48, belongs to the Kurmi community, politically the most significant in the state among the OBCs after Yadavs. Uttar Pradesh BJP leaders apparently pitched for Katiyar, who was elected from Faizabad in 1991, 1996 and 1999, in order to keep a check on Chief Minister Mayawati, who headed the BJP-BSP coalition government.

Katiyar’s name was floated by Mishra and later supported by Rajnath Singh, who was initially plumping for state organising secretary Ramapathi Ram Tripathi.

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