Rajasthan
In a surprise move, Chittorgarh MP CP Joshi made BJP state president | Jaipur News
JAIPUR: BJP national president JP Nadda appointed Chittorgarh MP CP Joshi, 47, as the new state president of the party, replacing Amber MLA Satish Poonia in the poll-bound state with immediate effect on Thursday.
Joshi is the youngest state president of the party in Rajasthan and has the task to continue the ‘aggressive’ attack on Congress and take the flock together for the polls scheduled in November-December. He is expected to arrive soon in Jaipur.
Known as a neutral face, Joshi has realigned his party with the core vote bank and reached out to a vast section of Jats, Gujjars and Meenas who have accused BJP of ignoring them.
The naming of two-time MP (2014 & 2019) for the top post came as a surprise for party leaders who had not even considered him in the list of probables. His appointment comes six months after the three-year tenure of the outgoing state president Satish Poonia was over in September 2022.
Joshi started his political career as an ABVP activist and rose to become the student union president of the Chittorgarh government college in 1995-96. He was elected as a municipal councillor in the following year which gave him a platform to display his leadership skills at the city level. His close links with the RSS helped him to make connections in the BJP and rise among the ranks by playing a vital role by organising visits of party central leaders in Mewar.
He got a BJP ticket to contest from Chittorgarh in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as Congress fielded Girija Vyas. Both of them belonged to the Brahmin community. His astounding victory by a margin of 3.17 lakh votes in 2014 and an increased 5.76 lakh votes in 2019 LS polls made him a leader to watch out for. “Joshi’s influence can be gauged from the fact that he has been regularly taking delegations from his constituency to parliament and meeting central ministers to maintain his popularity in the constituency,” said a senior BJP leader. Joshi, a graduate in commerce, joined BJP in 1994 in the presence of former CM and vicepresident Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
Joshi is the youngest state president of the party in Rajasthan and has the task to continue the ‘aggressive’ attack on Congress and take the flock together for the polls scheduled in November-December. He is expected to arrive soon in Jaipur.
Known as a neutral face, Joshi has realigned his party with the core vote bank and reached out to a vast section of Jats, Gujjars and Meenas who have accused BJP of ignoring them.
The naming of two-time MP (2014 & 2019) for the top post came as a surprise for party leaders who had not even considered him in the list of probables. His appointment comes six months after the three-year tenure of the outgoing state president Satish Poonia was over in September 2022.
Joshi started his political career as an ABVP activist and rose to become the student union president of the Chittorgarh government college in 1995-96. He was elected as a municipal councillor in the following year which gave him a platform to display his leadership skills at the city level. His close links with the RSS helped him to make connections in the BJP and rise among the ranks by playing a vital role by organising visits of party central leaders in Mewar.
He got a BJP ticket to contest from Chittorgarh in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls as Congress fielded Girija Vyas. Both of them belonged to the Brahmin community. His astounding victory by a margin of 3.17 lakh votes in 2014 and an increased 5.76 lakh votes in 2019 LS polls made him a leader to watch out for. “Joshi’s influence can be gauged from the fact that he has been regularly taking delegations from his constituency to parliament and meeting central ministers to maintain his popularity in the constituency,” said a senior BJP leader. Joshi, a graduate in commerce, joined BJP in 1994 in the presence of former CM and vicepresident Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
