Lucknow: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s historic win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections brought the lens on Sunil Bansal, the party’s Uttar Pradesh general secretary, who has now risen in stature within the ranks to become a trusted aide of BJP chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bansal’s booth-level management, selection of candidates and induction of new workers in the organisation also led the party to victory in the 2017 state assembly elections.
Bansal, who started out as a member of ABVP, was general secretary of Rajasthan University in 1989. In 2014, when Shah was made incharge of Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha polls, the task of booth management was handed over to Bansal. From strengthening the party in rural areas to selection of new booth incharges, Bansal proved his mettle in every task. He also conducted a survey of the candidates at the behest of Shah, which ultimately resulted in the party winning 71 of 80 seats.
Known as a “no-nonsense leader”, Bansal has also played an important role in the working of the party’s social media cell, which has helped the BJP capitalise on the youth voters.
In a state where understanding caste complexities is a herculean task, Bansal — who hails from Rajasthan — decoded the arithmetic and prepared a strategy to get OBCs, SCs and female voters by their side. He also came up with a membership drive in which more than two crore people had enrolled for primary membership of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Shah once again gave the charge to Bansal. And if latest trends are to be believed, the party’s gamble seems to have paid off in the state.
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