The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) elected Sudhir Mungantivar as its president on Friday. General secretary Ramnath Kovid announced Mungantivar’s election after a meeting of the party’s executive committee in Jalgaon.
Mungantivar, 48, is an MLA from Ballarpur in Chandrapur district of Vidarbha. Known for his well-researched speeches and aggressive techniques, Mungantivar was the only consensus candidate for the post. He is the second partyman from the Vidarbha region to hold the state unit president’s post after Nitin Gadkari. Gadkari, national chief of the party, hails from Nagpur.
Born on July 30, 1962, Mungantivar has reached the state assembly for the fourth consecutive time. He was the minister for tourism and consumers welfare in 1999 in the Shiv Sena-BJP government.
Like Gadkari, Mungantivar also has roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In his term of three years Mungantivar will face the challenge of revamping the party and boost the confidence of the workers for the elections of local governing bodies, including the BMC polls. Besides, he will have to tackle the pressure from alliance partner Shiv Sena on the issue of statehood to Vidarbha.
Mungantivar is scheduled to address the party’s state conclave on Saturday where the BJP is likely to pass resolutions on inflation and economic policies.
Senior leader Gopinath Munde will inaugurate the conclave, while Gadkari will conclude it on Sunday.
