This story is from June 3, 2020

Ex-mayor Adesh Kumar Gupta replaces Manoj Tiwari as Delhi BJP chief

Ex-mayor Adesh Kumar Gupta replaces Manoj Tiwari as Delhi BJP chief
Adesh Gupta
NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday appointed Adesh Kumar Gupta, a sitting councillor from West Patel Nagar ward and former mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation, as the president of its Delhi unit.
The move comes three months after BJP got a drubbing at the hands of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi assembly elections and barely managed to win eight seats in the 70-member House. Gupta (51) replaces Bhojpuri singer-turned-politician and two-term MP from Northeast Delhi, Manoj Tiwari.

Talking to reporters, Gupta said it would be a challenge to expand and consolidate the party during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I will fulfil my responsibility with honesty and dedication. We need to reach out to more people to enhance our voter base,” he added. Though Tiwari’s term as Delhi BJP chief ended on November 30, 2019, he continued to hold the post initially due to assembly elections and later due to communal riots and the national lockdown.
However, the sudden change on Tuesday surprised many even in the party. A first-term municipal councillor, Gupta is said to be the choice of BJP’s national vice-president and Delhi in-charge Shyam Jaju and general secretary (organisation) Siddharthan and his appointment has the stamp of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He is also considered close to BJP national president Jai Prakash Nadda.
Sources said Gupta started his political career with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and rose through the ranks. He held various posts in the state unit, including the office secretary in 2012, won his maiden municipal election in 2017 and was elected the mayor of the north corporation in 2018. He is currently the member of the standing committee of the north corporation.
Interestingly, Gupta is third councillor in the last 10 years to have been appointed for the coveted post. Rohini MLA Vijender Gupta and former councillor Satish Upadhyay have also led Delhi BJP earlier.

Party insiders said that the top brass was looking for a leader from the ‘Baniya’ community, considered the BJP’s voter base along with the Punjabis, for the post after giving the baton to Tiwari, a Purvanchali, for over three-and-a-half years.
“This clearly shows that BJP doesn’t want to lose its core voters, who had started feeling a little marginalised in the last couple of years. With his clean image and being a councillor himself, the party is looking to gear up for the 2022 civic polls under his leadership,” said a party functionary.
Another section of leaders said that RSS, which had a few run-ins with Tiwari, wanted somebody from the Sangh to lead the state unit.
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