Date:19/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/19/stories/2008041961131700.htm

National

Vijay Goel, BJP general secretary

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party president, Rajnath Singh, on Friday appointed Vijay Goel as party general secretary. He also inducted three women vice-presidents and three women secretaries.

The new vice-presidents are Jayawanti Ben Mehta (Maharashtra), Anita Arya (Delhi) and Vijaya Chakravorty (Assam). The new party secretaries are Sudha Yadav, Saroj Pandey and Smriti Irani.

Mr. Goel fills the vacancy caused by Om Mathur’s appointment as the State unit president of the BJP in Rajasthan.

By inducting Mr. Goel, Mr. Singh has tried to give a boost to the party’s electoral prospects in Delhi where Assembly elections are due later this year. Mr. Goel belongs to the influential and numerically strong trader community. At the last National Council of the party held in Delhi, the party had amended its constitution to give 33 per cent reservation to women in party positions. Currently, however, the BJP does not have even one woman general secretary. Party leaders said the number of general secretaries will be increased by two to accommodate women.