BJP ropes in party veteran Saudan Singh to look after Punjab, Haryana affairs

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 31

Feeling the political heat amid farmers’ protests, as it received a setback in the recent mayoral polls in Haryana, the BJP has brought in key party veteran Saudan Singh to shoulder organisational responsibilities in Punjab and its neighboring states, besides beefing up party’s Dalit outreach.

The saffron party today appointed Singh as the vice president of the orgainsation with the responsibilities of giving “special attention” to Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

The decision appeared to be in line with an assessment of the tough political challenges posed by the farmers’ protests. Singh, who will now have his base in Chandigarh, was the joint general secretary (organisation) earlier, and was mostly seen in action in Rajasthan.

The BJP has also appointed the party veteran V Satish as a “Sangathak (organiser)”, with the responsibilities, including SC-ST Morcha coordination, as he will look after the Parliamentary office coordination. Additionally, the national joint general secretary of BJP Shiv Prakash, with base in Bhopal, will look after the party’s affairs in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal.

Saudan Singh’s task has been cut out as the ripple effect of the farmers’ agitation is also showing impact in Haryana where the saffron outfit is in power in an alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) led by the deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala.

In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP will be bracing up for the Assembly elections in 2022 amid the recent trends of the incumbent governments voted out by the people.

Hathras gangrape incident in western Uttar Pradesh had for a while shown the BJP’s weakness in lacking credible Dalit leadership. The western UP has also been seen emerging as a laboratory of young Dalit leadership, which is seen in the rise of Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan.

The BJP leadership will be counting upon the veteran Satish, who has vast experience in the RSS and the party, to work on the strategy to consolidate support base among the Dalit, which is seen electorally formidable in the western UP, while the state will go to the Assembly elections in 2022.