Rajnath Singh's son elevated, 3 angry UP BJP secretaries quit

Cracks surfaced in the Uttar Pradesh unit of BJP when three party secretaries on Sunday resigned over promotion of senior leader Rajnath Singh's son Pankaj as general secretary in the poll-bound state.

Pankaj, who was till now working as the state secretary, has been promoted as the seventh general secretary of UP unit of the party, BJP general secretary Vindyavasini Kumar said.

Kumar, however, said he had no official information that three secretaries Daya Shanker Singh, Ashvani Tyagi and Santosh Singh have quit after elevation of Pankaj.

Party sources said that as per the party constitution only six general secretaries are allowed to be appointed.

Daya Shanker, who was the BJP candidate from Ballia in the last election, told PTI that he has sent his resignation to national president Nitin Gadkari and forwarded its copy to state president Surya Pratap Shahi.

In his resignation letter Daya Shanker, who is also former state president of the party's youth unit, said change in post was not justified during elections and his work and contribution should also be evaluated.

He also confirmed resignation by two secretaries Santosh Singh and Ashvani Tyagi, though they could not be contacted.

While Daya Shanker was willing to contest for Ballia, Ashvani and Santosh were seeking tickets for Bilhaur in Meerut and Lucknow East seats respectively, sources said.