Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was on Sunday named as the new president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Uttar Pradesh unit, with Union Minister Piyush Goyal formally announcing it.

The announcement was made in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak.

Chaudhary was the sole candidate for the post. He filed his nomination on Saturday before former Union minister and BJP state election officer Mahendra Nath Pandey, in the presence of central election observer Vinod Tawde. Chief Minister Adityanath, his two deputies, and Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh were also present during the nomination process.

Who is Pankaj Chaudhary?

A seven-time Lok Sabha MP from the Maharajganj constituency, Pankaj Chaudhary is a senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh. He belongs to the Kurmi community, classified under the Other Backward Classes (OBC), and is regarded as an influential figure with strong grassroots support.

Chaudhary is widely seen as a close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.