BJP opts for Yeddyruppa in Karnataka, OBC Maurya in UP

Gearing up for assembly elections, BJP today plumped for former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to lead the party in Karnataka and appointed Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC long associated with RSS and VHP, as its President in Uttar Pradesh.
It also named Union Minister Vijay Sampla, a Dalit leader, as its president in Punjab. Maurya, Yeddyurappa and Sampla are Lok Sabha members at present. Uttar Pradesh and Punjab will go to polls next year while Karnataka will have elections in 2018.
Yeddyurappa, the tallest Lingayat leader who was removed as Chief Minister on corruption charges and had floated his own party before the last assembly elections, returns to the helm of affairs in the state BJP, which is looking to wrest power back from Congress.

Reacting to his appointment, Yeddyurappa said his priority would be to bring back BJP to power as people are "fed up" with the "corrupt" Congress government.
Maurya is a first-time MP from Phulpur and party president Amit Shah opted for him from among a number of state leaders that did the rounds for months for the crucial assignment. He has actively campaigned on issues like Ram temple and cow protection.
OBC leaders Dharampal Singh and Swatantra Dev besides Dinesh Sharma, a Brahmin, and Union Minister Manoj Sinha, a Bhumihar, were among the other contenders for the post but Maurya's social background and Hindutva activism tipped the scale in his favour, sources said.

The BJP had swept the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh,

winning 71 of the 80 seats on its own while helping an ally get two seats.
Yeddyurappa had returned to the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, helping the party win 17 of the 28 seats in the state.
Singh downplayed corruption cases against him, saying he has been discharged in some and there is no substance in others. "They are politically motivated," he added.
With Sampla's appointment, BJP hopes it will win over Dalit votes in Punjab, where the community's share of total votes is more than any other state. The SCs are almost one-thirds of the total voters. BJP is an ally of Akali Dal and shares power in the state.

The party also announced K Laxman and Tapir Gao as its new chiefs in Telangana and Arunachal Pradesh.
Laxman is presently its leader in the state assembly while Gao was a former Lok Sabha member.
The party's choice for Maurya, Yeddyurappa and Laxman, who are from OBC group, and Sampla, a Dalit, underscores its vigorous campaign to woo the underprivileged communities after it suffered a debacle in Bihar and whose role would be key to its electoral fortunes in all these states.
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Noting that today marked the advent of Hindu new year, Arun Singh said the new state chiefs will strengthen the party and lead it to newer heights of success.

Maurya is an accused in several criminal cases, including murder, rioting and cheating. A perusal of the affidavits he filed for contesting the Lok Sabha election shows that he has 10 criminal cases against him.