- Himanta Biswa Sarma, who defected from Congress to BJP and played a key role in its big Assam win, and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, a new entrant to the saffron party, were on Saturday inducted into its National Executive.
- BJP brought former Congress leaders in it’s key body, among the new faces. These included former Odisha Chief Minister and tribal leader Giridhar Gamang and former union minister KP Singh Deo. Party sources stated that all former party chief ministers are permanent invitees to the National Executive but Bahuguna and Gamang were inducted to give them an equal status.
- Bajpai, a Brahmin, has been made a member of the body as the party wants to consolidate the community’s votes in its favour. Constituting more than 10 percent of UP’s population, Brahmins play a crucial role in the elections and it was their votes that had tilted the scale in Mayawati’s favour in 2007.
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