The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday dropped Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from its parliamentary board, the party’s highest organisational and decision-making body.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa is among the six new faces that have been added to the parliamentary board.
Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Punjab leader Iqbal Singh Lalpura, former Lok Sabha MP Satyanarayan Jatiya, the party’s National Secretary Sudha Yadav and Other Backward Classes wing chief K Lakshman are others who have been included in the panel for the first time.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda and National General Secretary BL Santhosh are also part of the 11-member board.
The parliamentary board of the BJP usually has the final word on important decisions like selection of chief ministers in BJP-ruled states and presidents of state units of the party.
Apart from the omission of senior leaders Gadkari and Chouhan, the inclusion of Lapura also holds significance as he is the first Sikh to get a place on the board, according to PTI. He is also the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.
However, the BJP still does not have a Muslim in its top decision-making body.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath also did not find a place in the panel, even though there were reports of his prospects being bright after the party’s victory in the Assembly elections held in the country’s largest state earlier this year, NDTV reported.
Meanwhile, the party also rejigged its Central Election Committee by adding Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP National General Secretary Bhupender Yadav, women wing chief Vanathi Srinivasan and Rajya Sabha MP Om Mathur to the 15-member panel.
Former Union ministers Jual Oram and Shahnawaz Hussain and former women wing chief Vijaya Rahatkar have been dropped from the committee.
All members of the parliamentary board are ex-officio members of the election committee as well.
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