Anupam Hazra, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary, has been dropped from his post with immediate effect following controversial statements. The decision came during BJP President JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah's recent visit to Kolkata. A former Trinamool Congress MP, Hazra was the Scheduled Caste face of the saffron party and was given a senior position in 2020.
Who is Anupam Hazra?
1) Born on May 30, 1982, Anupam Hazra, a PhD in "Role of rural women in promotion and management of sanitation", has authored four books in the realm of social and sustainable development.
2) Mr Hazra was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha on a Trinamool Congress ticket from Bholpur in 2014. He was expelled from the party in January 2019 for "anti-party activities''. During his stint as a Parliamentarian, he served as a member of the Standing Committee on Information & Technology (IT).
3) Soon after his expulsion from the Trinamool Congress, the 41-year-old joined the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Apart from the post of national secretary, Hazra was also made the party co-incharge of Bihar.
4) In September this year, Mr Hazra courted controversy after he suggested that "corrupt" Trinamool leaders, who were expecting summons from CBI and ED, could contact him to join the BJP. His statement forced the state party unit to distance itself from any such suggestion.
5) Mr Hazra was removed from his post just months before the 2023 Lok Sabha elections where the BJP aims to better its tally after a great outing in the last elections. In 2019, of the 42 seats, Trinamool won 22, BJP 18 and the remaining two seats went to Congress.