He was waiting for a gubernatorial assignment but instead the veteran Uttar Pradesh leader from Bareilly, Rajesh Agarwal, was appointed treasurer of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Agarwal, who was dropped from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet as finance minister as he had attained the age of 75 years and had bad health, would be managing the biggest fund just 13 months after his ouster from the Council of Ministers.

Sources say that Agarwal was told that after being removed from the UP cabinet, it was speculated that he could become a Governor. Agarwal was even informed that he could be appointed as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh after the demise of Lalji Tandon who was also from UP.

But when the information that he was appointed the treasurer of the BJP was given to him on Saturday afternoon, he was taking a nap after lunch at his residence in Bareilly and he was completely surprised.

A  close associate of the leader said here on Sunday that Agarwal could not believe how the party had put faith in him to manage the finances when he was removed from the UP Council of Minister as finance minister because of his age.

“He was waiting for an order from the Centre to appoint him as a Governor. But the sudden change surprised him,” the associate said.

Agarwal, who has been a party veteran, has continuously been the member of UP Vidhan Sabha since 1993.

Agarwal, who hails from Bareilly, comes from the Vaishya trading community. His father was a successful businessman in the region. 

Apart from his proximity to business, Agarwal was also close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

“Rajesh Agarwal’s family has a close relationship with top RSS functionaries. Not only the family helped the RSS movement financially, Sangh leaders visiting Bareilly often stayed at Agarwal’s place. Therefore, Rajesh Agarwal was drawn towards the RSS from a young age,” a BJP leader of Bareilly said.

During the heydays of the Ram temple movement in the 1990’s, Rajesh Agarwal was involved with the Sangh and the BJP. When the Kalyan Singh government in UP was sacked following the demolition of the Babri Mosque in December 1992, fresh assembly elections in UP were held in 1993. Rajesh Agarwal was then given the BJP ticket from Bareilly City constituency.

Since then, Agarwal had kept the party flag flying in his traditional Bareilly City seat and then the Bareilly Cantonment.

During the BJP-BSP coalition government in 1990’s, Agarwal was inducted in the state cabinet for the first time and he was Deputy Speaker of UP Vidhan Sabha from 2003 to 2007. He was also the treasurer of the party’s state unit.

Known for his gentle nature, Agarwal has maintained good relations with the people in his constituency. He still sits at his old office in Bareilly city. It was this connect with the people which led to his electoral success.

In 2017, as Yogi Adityanath emerged as a surprise pick for the chief minister’s post in UP, Rajesh was brought in as the cabinet minister for finance. The portfolio was allotted since Agarwal was one of the senior-most party MLA and someone who had a hold on business and financial issues.

However, his tenure was cut short in August, 2019 after he was dropped from the cabinet for health reasons. It was rumoured that the chief minister was not happy with the way he was handling the office.

Since then, Agarwal was lying low. It was being speculated that he might be offered a good posting like the governor of any state, but his appointment as the national treasurer of the party has come as a bigger surprise.

It is being speculated that Agarwal’s appointment comes with political concerns for the UP assembly elections in 2022. The party has not only given a message to the prominent Vaishya community, it has also tried to balance the internal dynamics of the party with his appointment.