Yogi's home turf back in focus: Why Gorakhpur has returned as BJP's most watched address in Uttar Pradesh

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with party's new state president Pankaj Chaudhary. (Image: X/@myogiadityanath)

Gorakhpur, the home turf of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is once again at the centre of Uttar Pradesh's political churn, with the appointment of Union Minister of State for Finance and seven-time Maharajganj MP Pankaj Chaudhary as the new BJP state president.

The move has drawn attention within party circles as a rare instance in which both the Chief Minister and the president of the state unit of the BJP hail from the same district in a break from the party's long-standing practice of distributing top organisational and government positions across regions to strike a balance.

Chaudhary's elevation signals the consolidation of Gorakhpur's influence within the state unit at a time when the BJP is preparing for the 2026 panchayat elections and the crucial 2027 Assembly polls.

A senior BJP leader told The Indian Express that the leadership was hopeful that Chaudhary's appointment would improve coordination between the party organisation and the government, noting that he is the party's senior-most MP from Uttar Pradesh while Adityanath, now an MLA, was earlier a five-time MP from Gorakhpur.

The district rose to statewide prominence in 2017 when the BJP named Adityanath, then the sitting Gorakhpur MP and head of the influential Gorakhnath Peeth, as its Chief Minister. Since then, Adityanath's political ascent has overshadowed several other senior leaders from the region, even as Gorakhpur has continued to produce heavyweight figures within the BJP.

Notable names among them include Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, Union Minister Kamlesh Paswan, and Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal.

Born and brought up in Gorakhpur, Chaudhary began his political career in local bodies as a corporator before serving as Deputy Mayor of the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation. With his appointment, Chaudhary becomes the fifth UP BJP president during Adityanath's eight-year tenure as Chief Minister, following Keshav Prasad Maurya from central UP, Mahendra Nath Pandey from eastern UP, Swatantra Dev Singh from Bundelkhand, and Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary from western UP.

His selection is being read as both a regional and social signal, with the BJP tapping a Kurmi OBC leader to strengthen outreach beyond its traditional upper-caste base.

Party insiders, however, acknowledge that the concentration of power in Gorakhpur could also pose internal challenges. With Chaudhary and Adityanath drawing support from overlapping political and organisational networks, the first test of the new arrangement is likely to come during ticket distribution for the panchayat elections next year.

"There is a real possibility of competition between the followers of the CM and the state president in the Gorakhpur region," a party leader told The Indian Express, adding that managing these equations will be critical to avoid factional discontent.

The BJP has previously attempted to balance power among Gorakhpur's leaders. After Adityanath shifted to the Gorakhpur Urban Assembly constituency in 2022, Radha Mohan Das Agrawal was denied a ticket and later elevated to the Rajya Sabha. Agrawal also serves as the party's in-charge for Karnataka and Rajasthan.

Shiv Pratap Shukla, a Brahmin leader who lost the Gorakhpur seat in 2002 to Agrawal when the latter contested with Adityanath's backing, kept a low profile for years before being appointed a Rajya Sabha MP in 2016, a Union Minister in 2017, and eventually the Governor of Himachal Pradesh in 2023.

A senior BJP functionary said these appointments reflected the party's effort to maintain caste and regional equilibrium, noting that Adityanath, Shukla and Agrawal represent Thakur, Brahmin and Vaishya interests respectively, which together form the core of the BJP's support base.

Chaudhary's rise, the leader added, could help the party deepen its appeal among OBC voters in eastern UP while reinforcing organisational control in Purvanchal.

On its part, the BJP has publicly downplayed suggestions that Gorakhpur is being turned into an exclusive power centre. Party spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said that unlike Opposition parties, the BJP does not personalise power around constituencies of chief ministers or party chiefs.

Drawing a parallel with Prime Minister Narendra Modi representing Varanasi despite hailing from Gujarat, Tripathi said Adityanath has focussed on the development of all regions of Uttar Pradesh and that the party would approach the 2026 panchayat polls and the 2027 Assembly elections as a united force.

Yet, with multiple influential leaders rooted in the same district and high-stakes elections on the horizon, Gorakhpur's renewed prominence underlines the BJP's strength in eastern UP as well as the challenge it faces in striking the right balance of managing ambition, caste arithmetic and regional aspirations within its own ranks.