A big section within the party wanted Upadhyay removed ever since the Aam Aadmi Party defeated the BJP in February 2015. Upadhyay’s supporters, however, blame the Central leadership’s “wrong” decision to project Kiran Bedi as the Chief Ministerial face at the last moment for the election drubbing. The party also did not fare well in this year’s bylections for municipal wards, for which Upadhyay’s detractors blamed him.
BJP organisational elections were not completed despite the Central leadership’s efforts to get it done before Amit Shah’s re-election as the national president in January this year. However, no decision could be taken whether to continue with Upadhyay or not. Now since municipal elections are round the corner, his supporters are pushing the party leadership to maintain status quo. The municipal elections are likely to be held in March next year.
Upadhyay had taken charge of the state party unit in mid 2014 after the then president Harsh Vardhan got elected to the Lok Sabha and was subsequently made a Union Minister.
However, other leaders are pushing their case for a change in the state unit. Those whose names are doing the rounds include Pravesh Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister, the late Sahib Singh Verma and Manoj Tiwari. Pravesh Verma belongs to the Jat community, while Tiwari represents Poorvanchalis whose numbers have increased in Delhi substantially in the last few years.
For the last 14 years, the Delhi unit has been headed by either a Punjabi or a Vaishya leader, with Upadhyay being an exception.
Other contenders for the president’s post are Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma, Vijay Goel and Maheish Girri. There is also a section which is pushing for Vijender Gupta. Gupta has been the Delhi president in the past and is currently the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly. He is one of the three BJP candidates who got elected in last year’s Assembly elections, which saw AAP sweeping 67 out of 70 seats.
Upadhyay, while speaking at a party meeting, had asked the workers to be prepared for municipal elections. He had, in fact, also said that Delhi was heading towards a “constitutional crisis” under the Aam Aadmi Party dispensation and, therefore, they should be ready for that also.