From train halts to city venues, HQ: BJP rolls out the saffron carpet for new UP chief

Party leaders said this is perhaps the grandest welcome accorded to a state chief. (Express Photo)

Arrangements have also been made to greet Chaudhary at all the stops of the train, on which he is travelling to Lucknow.

Party leaders said this is perhaps the grandest welcome accorded to a state chief, with the BJP intent on rallying party leaders, from across regions and communities, to present a united front.

Sources said party leaders handling the arrangements approached Railway authorities Sunday with the request to ensure that the train arrives at Lucknow on time, so that they can stick to the schedule for all the welcome programmes planned at various places in the city and at the party headquarters.

Chaudhary will be welcomed at the headquarters by the entire top brass of the state BJP, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CMs Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, the ministers of the state Cabinet, as well as Union ministers and BJP national office-bearers belonging to UP.

Chaudhary will be welcomed at the headquarters by the entire top brass of the state BJP. (Express Photo)

All former state presidents have also been invited, in keeping with the party tradition.

A senior party functionary among several looking after the preparations said: “Party workers from across UP are coming to attend. At least a thousand people are coming from each district, and party MLAs are coming with their supporters. As the party office has limited capacity, arrangements are being made to ensure people do not face any inconvenience in meeting the state president.”

A leader said the message the party wants to send out is that Chaudhary, a Jat leader from western UP and a surprise choice for party chief post, will be “a leader for all”. “Jats have influence only in certain districts of west UP in the state. Chaudhary has travelled across UP but only in his capacity as a minister. Now, as he heads the party organisation in the state, leaders from different castes will be present,” the leader said.

The BJP has never had a Jat leader as state president in UP, and Chaudhary’s appointment is seen as the party’s attempt to reach out to the influential community, which was an active participant in the year-long farmers’ protest.

The outreach to other communities also lies in the route Chaudhary will take to the party office from the railway station, stopping to offer floral tributes at the statues of Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya, Maharana Pratap, Bhimrao Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Maharani Avantibai and former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chaudhary Charan Singh. The statues have also been decorated by the BJP.

Chaudhary’s movement from the railway station to the party office will be organised like a roadshow, with arrangements for live streaming, in another first.

Another leader said it will be interesting to see what former state presidents, including Swatantra Dev Singh, convey to Chaudhary ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Singh on Sunday took stock of the welcome preparations.