NEW DELHI (TIP): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 31 announced its new Parliamentary Board and as speculated, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was reinducted into the panel after a gap of six years. Among the other new members, who were appointed in the board, were Varun Gandhi and Modi’s close aide and former Gujarat home minister Amit Shah. The appointment is a shot in the arm for Modi, who is expected to play a big role in the next Lok Sabha elections after his three years of consecutive victory in Gujarat polls. Shah’s appointment, however, was opposed by a faction of the party. Among the new Vice Presidents appointed in the board are – Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Smriti Irani and Prabhat Jha.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, however, did not find a place in BJP’s Parliamentary Board. Modi is the only Chief Minister who has been appointed in the board. Reacting to the development, party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Both Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chauhan are important leaders for BJP.

It is not fair to pick one Chief Minister to the other.” Smriti Irani, however, was happy with Modi’s induction and said, “Workers enthused after Modi’s induction in BJP Board.” She was also delighted with her elevation in the panel and thanked Rajnath Singh. Before announcing his new team, BJP chief Rajnath Singh had met senior party leader LK Advani, who continues to be a part of the party’s Central Parliamentary Board.
Following is the list of BJP’s new Parliamentary Board:
BJP General Secretaries:
Ananth Kumar
Thawarchand Gehlot
JP Naddha
Dharmendra Pradhan
Tapir Gaon
Amit Shah
Varun Gandhi
Rajeev Pratap Rudy
Murlidhar Rao
Ramlal (GS Org)
BJP Central Parliamentery Board:
Rajnath Singh (President)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Lal Krishna Advani
Dr Murli Manohar Joshi
M Venkeya Naidu
Nitin Gadkari
Sushma Swaraj
Arun Jaitely
Narendra Modi
Ananth Kumar
Thawar Chand Gehlot
Ram Lal (GS Org)
Vice Presidents:
Sadananda Gauda
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
Dr CP Thakur
Jual Urao
SS Ahluwalia
Balbir Punj
Satpal Malik
Prabhat Jha
Sushri Uma Bharti
Bijyo Chakravarti
Lakxmikanta Chawla
Kiran Maheshwari
Smriti Irani