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New Delhi: A rebel sitting MLA of the Samajwadi Party and the younger son of defence minister Rajnath Singh have found their way into the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) organisation in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 assembly election. The ruling saffron party on June 25 unveiled its new organisational team in the key state: 19 vice-presidents, eight general secretaries and 19 secretaries. It took the party six months since Union minister and Kurmi leader Pankaj Chaudhary was appointed as its state president to announce a change in the party structure.

Neeraj Singh, the younger son of Rajnath Singh, was named as one of the 19 vice-presidents. He directly replaced his elder brother and MLA Pankaj Singh, who previously held the same post. However, the most striking addition to the list of vice-presidents is Pooja Pal, the SP MLA from the Chail seat.

Pal, who has been openly aligning with the BJP since cross-voting for the party in the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections, remains a sitting SP legislator, though her political loyalties have decisively shifted.

The Akhilesh Yadav-led SP last August expelled Pal from the party soon after she praised Chief Minister Adityanath in the state assembly for delivering what she called “justice” in the murder case of her husband, Raju Pal, in 2005 in Allahabad. Raju Pal was a sitting MLA of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) when he was gunned down. The murder had also forced a young Pooja Pal into electoral politics.

“I will continuously strive to further strengthen the organisation while working with complete loyalty, dedication, and honesty towards the party’s ideology, principles and........

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