Chosen for Party’s stunning victory in UP LS polls

Appointed// Amit Shah, close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, replaced Rajanth Singh as the new Bharatiya Janata Party president. At 49, Shah is the youngest ever president the ruling party ever had. His elevation in stature from party general secretary in-charge of UP to the president post comes barely two months after he led the party to a spectacular win in the Lok Sabha election in the state. A former home minister of Gujarat and a share trader by profession, Shah led the BJP campaign in UP which helped its party bag 71 of the 80 seats in the state, decimating Congress to two seats, Samajwadi Party to five and BSP to null. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Shah had been chosen for the post because of his “organisational and management skills” which he said was seen in the Uttar Pradesh battle.

First elected to the Gujarat assembly in 1997, Shah is one of the accused in 2004 Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case. The BJP president is also accused in other encounter cases of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati and was arrested in the first case in July 2010. As BJP chief, Shah has got into poll mode and holding a series of meetings with party units of the states where assembly elections are scheduled.