NEW DELHI: Signalling its readiness for a fierce battle in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP on Wednesday sprang a surprise by appointing Gujarat Hindutva hardliner Gordhan Zadafia, a Narendra Modi baiter in the past, to lead its electoral charge in the state. Zadafia along with former Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra, who is being projected as a prominent Brahmin face, and Dushyant Gautam would be the Lok Sabha election in charges for UP. Gordhan Zadafia was the Gujarat Home Minister during the 2002 riots.
“Given his 15-plus years of association with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and a strong RSS background, Zadafia is a surprise choice. He would be stepping into the shoes of Amit Shah, who was asked to handle UP in 2013 by the then party chief Rajnath Singh at the behest of Modi. The PM seems to have handpicked another Gujarat man to take care of UP, which will decide the fate of the BJP in 2019,” said a senior party functionary.
Others who got organisational responsibilities include Prakash Javadekar (Rajasthan), Thawar Chand Gehlot (Uttarakhand) and Om Mathur (Gujarat). Among the new faces were Nitin Naveen (Sikkim), Satish Upadhyay (co-in charge for MP), Sudhanshu Trivedi (co-in charge for Rajasthan), Aravind Limbawali (Telangana) and Mahendra Singh (Assam).
General secretaries Bhupendra Yadav (Bihar), Anil Jain (Chhattisgarh), Arun Singh (Odisha) and Mangal Pandey (Jharkhand) stay in play.
Good organiser, polarising figure
Like Amit Shah, Zadafia has good organisational skills. He is also a polarising figure. His appointment indicates Modi is open to making friends with old foes for the do-or-die 2019 battle.