Pankaj Chaudhary, 7-Time MP & Kurmi Leader, Takes BJP UP Helm as Piyush Goyal Announces; Yogi Backs Amid OBC Push for 2027 Polls
The Minister of State for Finance and a seven-time Member of Parliament from Maharajganj, Pankaj Chaudhary has been appointed as the new Uttar Pradesh unit President of BJP.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) December 14: On Sunday, on December 14, 2025, Union Minister Of State For Finance Pankaj Chaudhary became President of BJP Uttar Pradesh. He is a seven-time member of Parliament, and a senior Kurmi Leader. The announcement was made by Union Minister And BJP election In-Charge Piyush Goyal.
Nomination and Ceremony Highlights
Mr Chaudhary submitted his nomination papers at the BJP office Lucknow, on Saturday (December 13, 2025) with U.P CM Yogi Adityanath and senior leaders.
When Mr Chaudhary submitted his nomination papers to the BJP Party, his nomination was endorsed by 10 senior party leaders, including U.P CM Yogi Adityanath, Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak (U.P’s Deputy C.Ms).
The Appointment Ceremony took place under Traditional Rituals such as Swasti Vachan, Shankhnaad, and damru recital. The Outgoing State President, Chaudhary Bhupendra formally handed Over The BJP Flag to Pankaj Chaudhary, symbolizing the transfer of charge.
At the time of filing his nomination papers, Chaudhary had a large number of supporters in Maharajganj who travelled down to both the party office and the Lucknow airport to show their support.
Political Career and Achievements
Chaudhary is a Kurmi member, representing Maharajganj for seven M.P.s and considered an elder among Kurmis and a leader of the outreach of other backward classes to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. To consolidate OBC votes, a change in the leadership of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh is viewed as an attempt to put pressure on OBC supporters, especially in light of the frustrations among Kurmi voters during the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Chaudhary received his degree from Gorakhpur University. He began his political career as a councillor in the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation in 1989. First elected as M.P. to Lok Sabha from Maharajganj Lok Sabha, he was on a BJP ticket in 1991.
Chaudhary won the Maharajganj seat in 1996, 1998, 2004, 2014, 2019, and again in 2024, a BJP candidate, and was appointed Union Minister of State for Finance as part of Prime Minister Modi‘s second cabinet.
Strategic Shift for OBC Consolidation
The State BJP President will have political implications because Uttar Pradesh is a politically important state. The name of Uttar Pradesh is set to change due to the forthcoming Panchayat Polls and then the forthcoming Assembly Elections in 2027.
According to Political Experts, this is causing BJP to choose leaders with a strong regional base And a good caste equation.
Since 2022, when the BJP selected a JAT leader from the western regions of UP during the protests by farmers, it seems that the BJP's view of the leadership calculation has changed. The BJP selected a new Party President a few months after its 2024 Lok Sabha election defeat and is now focused on preparing its Eastern Zone for the assembly elections of 2027 and the three-level panchayat election in mid-2026.
