Union Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament. File

Union Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session of Parliament. File
| Photo Credit: Sansad TV

The Congress in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday (February 7, 2026) questioned Bharatiya Janata Party’s State unit chief Pankaj Chaudhary holding dual positions as Union Minister of State and the U.P. BJP president, accusing the ruling party of double standards. It alleged that while the BJP claims to uphold high moral standards with ‘one person, one post’ idea as a key guideline, this idea is not being followed in Uttar Pradesh.

“Mr. Chaudhary is both the State BJP president and Union Minister [of State], the BJP talks about ‘one person, one post’ principle and claims to strictly follow it. Even Nitin Nabin resigned from the Bihar State Cabinet as Minister when appointed as the BJP national president, but why U.P. BJP chief is holding both positions, these ideas of ‘one person, one post’ are only a farce. The tall claims have nothing to do with reality. The party is being run from Delhi by one person, and he employs these tactics as per requirement,” said Shahnawaz Alam, national secretary, Congress, without elaborating further.

Even after the Union Budget was presented, Mr. Chaudhary should have resigned, if the ruling party truly follows such a principle, he said.

Union Minister of State for Finance and seven-time Lok Sabha MP from Maharajganj, Pankaj Chaudhary was in December last year named the new president of the BJP Uttar Pradesh unit, with his appointment being formally announced in Lucknow. There are very few instances in the BJP of leaders holding dual responsibility in recent past with former BJP national chief Jagat Prakash Nadda, being one exception. In U.P., OBC Morcha chief Narendra Kashyap holds a ministerial position.


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