Lucknow: BJP president Amit Shah has set a cutoff age limit for those aspiring for positions in the Uttar Pradesh party organisation. Elderly leaders will not get any responsibilities in the party’s front and main organisation in the state, at best they can assume the role of mentors.
“Though the exact cutoff age has not been set, the BJP president is clear that responsibility must now be handed over to youth for the 2017 Assembly elections. Those above 65 should not hope for any post or assignment in the organisation,” said a leader known to be close to Mr Shah.
The Sangh Parivar, sources said, also favours promoting younger leaders. It feels that its gamble of promoting a younger Narendra Modi instead of a veteran like L.K. Advani paid rich dividends in the Lok Sabha elections, and this should be repeated in Uttar Pradesh.
“A majority of the country’s population is young, and we need leaders with a vision that suits the young. Politics in the country has undergone a sea change, and we have to keep pace,” the party leader said.
To begin with, all aged leaders in front organisations at district and lower levels will be replaced with younger and more energetic leaders. The main organisation will be reconstituted later and the formula will apply there too.
