AMN / WEB DESK
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J.P. Nadda today made a reshuffle of the national team of office bearers of the party, dropping two general secretaries while adding former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vice chancellor Tariq Mansoor as vice president and new recruit Anil Antony, son of former Defence Minister A.K. Antony as national secretary.
Additionally, Bandi Sanjay, the former president of the Telangana state unit, has been appointed as the National General Secretary, along with Radha Mohan Agarwal, a lawmaker from Uttar Pradesh.
Tariq Mansoor, the former Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), resigned from his position earlier this year after being nominated as a member of the UP Legislative Council. His appointment to a new role within the BJP is seen as a strategic move to reach out to the Pasmanda Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.
Anil Antony’s journey to the BJP began in April of the current year when he joined the party in the presence of Union Minister Piyush Goyal. His departure from the Congress party occurred in January, after he expressed critical remarks about the party during the BBC raids incident concerning the documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An interesting addition to the list of general secretaries is Radha Mohan Agrawal, a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh, one of the two new faces on the list from a total of nine general secretaries, seven of whom retain their position. Mr Agarwal used to be an MLA in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly representing the Gorakhpur (Urban) seat, which is now represented by Shief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The rejig, while having the meta narrative of a team being set up to face the upcoming Assembly polls in five States and the General Elections of 2024, is notable more for the smaller messages it contains.