BJP takes back suspended U.P. leaders, welcomes new entrants

In the run-up to Lok Sabha election, the party plans to take back hundreds of local State leaders and workers, who were suspended during the local body polls for their anti-party activities

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Monday at a State party office in Lucknow formally inducted new leaders and workers into the BJP, including those who were previously suspended from the party for anti-party activities during the local body polls held in May 2023. Leaders, including Dilip Srivastava, who once served as State BJP spokesperson, were taken back in the party.

Welcoming the newcomers and returnees, Mr. Pathak, a prominent face of the BJP face in central U.P., asked them to working tirelessly to strengthen the party in their respective areas for the 2024 parliamentary elections. “We all must take the pledge to make Modi-ji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) PM again in 2024, and start working in our areas,” Mr. Pathak said.

Local leaders, including Suresh Awasthi, Amit Maurya, Sunil Shukla and Dilip Srivastava returned to the party’s fold.

Former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of U.P. Police Harish Kumar, former vice-president of the Lucknow Bar Association Siddharth Anand, and other local leaders from the Samajwadi Party (SP) joined the BJP along with their supporters.

In the run-up to Lok Sabha election, the party plans to take back hundreds of such local leaders and workers. The BJP suspended roughly 5,000 office-bearers or workers who stood against the official candidate or indulged in anti-party activities during the last local body polls.