New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Former Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa was appointed chief of the party in Karnataka, BJP general secretary Arun Singh said on Friday as the party decided on state heads here.
Phoolpur MP Keshav Prasad Maurya will head the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh while Vijay Sampla will be the BJP unit chief in Punjab. Both states are set to go to polls next year.
All three are Lok Sabha members.
In the youngest Indian state of Telangana, BJP legislator K. Laxman has been named to head the party, and former Lok Sabha member Tapir Gao in Arunachal Pradesh.
Yeddyurappa became the frontrunner to take up the post of the party’s Karnataka unit chief after the Supreme Court last year declined to intervene and revoke a Karnataka High Court order putting on hold his prosecution in a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The former chief minister resigned from his post following charges of being involved in an illegal mining case that hit the state in 2011. In July 2012, he broke off from the BJP and formed his own party, but returned tol the party fold in January 2014. He is a national vice president of the party.
Maurya, who will head the party in Uttar Pradesh, is a first time MP from a humble background. He used to sell tea and newspapers for a living during his childhood.
Sampla, the new Punjab BJP chief, is at present the minister of state for social justice at the Centre.
The name of former cricketer and BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu was also being considered for the post. Sources said Sidhu declined the offer.
New Delhi: Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has been named the new president of the state BJP, while Keshav Prasad Maurya has been appointed the new party chief in Uttar Pradesh.
Yeddyurappa is currently the national vice-president of the BJP and a member of Lok Sabha. He replaces Pralhad V Joshi.
Yeddyurappa became the frontrunner to take up the post of the party’s Karnataka unit after the Supreme Court last year declined to intervene and revoke a Karnataka high court order putting on hold his prosecution in cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Yeddyurappa and Sampla likely to head BJP’s Karnataka, Punjab units
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) B.S. Yeddyurappa and Vijay Sampla are likely to be appointed as the new chiefs of the Karnataka and Punjab units of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sources said.
The names of Yeddyurappa and Sampla are almost final and an official announcement is likely to come soon, said the sources.
Yeddyurappa is former chief minister of Karnataka and is currently the national vice president of the BJP.
Sampla is union Minister of State for Social Justice.
Both the leaders are Lok Sabha members.
The current president of Karnataka unit of BJP is Pralhad V. Joshi.
Yeddyurappa became the frontrunner to take up the post of the party’s Karnataka unit after the Supreme Court last year declined to intervene and revoke a Karnataka High Court order putting on hold his prosecution in a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The current president of the Punjab unit of the BJP is Kamal Sharma.
The name of former cricketer and BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu was also being considered for the post. Sources said Sidhu declined the offer.
Punjab will be going to polls next year to elect its new assembly.
