BJP MLA Hemant Khandelwal new president of MP unit

Bhopal, Jul 2 (PTI) The BJP on Wednesday declared party MLA and "grassroots man" Hemant Kumar Khandelwal, who has strong roots in the RSS, as its new state unit president.

By naming Khandelwal, 60, the saffron party signalled its outreach to the Vaishya (trading) community, aiming to balance the delicate caste arithmetic in a state led by an OBC chief minister.

He succeeds V D Sharma, who had been heading the state BJP unit since 2020.

Khandelwal said that his family had been “raising the party’s flag against the Congress for the last 100 years.” He emphasised that fostering coordination between the government and the party organisation would be his top priority.

Khandelwal was the sole candidate to file his nomination papers on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan officially declared him elected as the new state BJP president.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Khajuraho MP and outgoing BJP state president Sharma, and Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Virendra Kumar, among others, were present on the occasion.

Yadav, who proposed Khandelwal’s name, submitted the nomination papers at the state BJP office.

Khandelwal's father, Vijay Kumar Khandelwal, was a four-term Lok Sabha MP from Betul. Following his father’s passing in 2007, Hemant Khandelwal won the by-election on his first attempt and became an MP.

He later served as Betul district BJP president from 2010 to 2013 and represented the assembly constituency from 2013 to 2018. He won the seat again in the 2023 assembly elections.

Khandelwal has also served as treasurer of the state BJP and currently heads the Kushabhau Thakre Trust, an organisation affiliated with the BJP.

"I will leave no stone unturned to strengthen the party organisation," he said, adding that he would work tirelessly to ensure the dignity of BJP workers remains intact.

Union Minister Pradhan, who has known Khandelwal for many years, described him as an "organisation man" who leads a simple life.

"He is soft-spoken, sincere, and deeply committed to his work. Known for his grassroots connection within the BJP, I am confident he will take everyone along in this new role," Pradhan said.

CM Yadav underlined the spirit of oneness among BJP workers while hailing Khandelwal.

Union Minister Chauhan stated that Khandelwal is consistently focused on development and revealed that, during his tenure as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, he incorporated Khandelwal’s suggestions into the CM Rise School Scheme. PTI MAS GK NSK