The BJP on Saturday appointed Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal as its Bihar unit president and Amber MLA Satish Poonia as the chief of the Rajasthan unit.
In a statement issued in New Delhi, the party said its president Amit Shah had approved the appointments and also that of Ajay Kumar as the general secretary (organisation) for Uttarakhand.
Dr .Jaiswal, 53, is a three-time party MP from the West Champaran Lok Sabha constituency. A doctor by profession, he replaced Nityanand Rai who, earlier, was appointed as Minister of State for Home Affairs in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s the Cabinet.
Dr. Jaiswal is also the chief whip of the party in the Lok Sabha. He had first won the Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and then in 2014. He defeated Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) candidate Brijesh Kumar Kushwaha by 2.93 lakh votes in the 2019 poll.
Dr. Jaiswal’s father Dr Madan Prasad Jaiswal had also been a three-time party MP from the constituency which, earlier, was known as Bettiah LS seat, in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
Dr. Jaiswal had done his MBBS from the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) while MD (general medicine) from the Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). He expressed his thanks to Mr. Shah for reposing faith in him.
“This is an election year and party has entrusted great trust and faith in me…I’ll try my best to come up to the expectations of the top leadership,” he told the media in West Champaran.
The appointment of Mr. Poonia, MLA from Jaipur district’s Amber constituency, came two-and-a-half months after the death of State chief Madan Lal Saini on June 24. Hailing from Churu’s Rajgarh town, Mr. Poonia, 55, is considered close to the RSS.
An influential Jat leader, Mr. Poonia is known for his organisational skills and served as the State general secretary four times between 2004 and 2014. His appointment was made at a crucial time — just before the local body elections.
Mr. Poonia was at present the party State spokesperson and was also looking after its membership drive. The strategy to appoint the Jat leader threw a major challenge before the ruling Congress ahead of the municipal polls, as the latter is under pressure to give a senior position in the party structure to the community.
Mr. Poonia told reporters at the party headquarters in Jaipur that his working style would remain the same in his new capacity and the party workers were happy on the selection of a person “from among themselves”. “We will work for progress of all sections of society and strengthen the BJP at the booth level.”
He alleged that the Congress had betrayed the farmers and the youth and neglected the law and order, which had led to a sharp increase in crimes. He said the BJP, while playing an effective role as the Opposition, would give a tough fight to the Congress in the local body polls and by-elections in two Assembly seats this year.
