Vijay Sampla Quits as Scheduled Castes​ Commission Chief, BJP to Use Him for ‘Groundwork’ ahead of 2024 – News18

With the BJP focussing hard to make an impact during the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, the party high command is now planning to move senior leaders from commission/board postings to organisational positions to strengthen its on-ground cadre in the state. As part of the decision, former Bharatiya Janata Party state president Vijay Sampla on Tuesday resigned from the post of chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. He said he had stepped down to strengthen the party in the state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Leaders close to him said he was expecting some responsibility in the organisational setup. A Dalit face of the party, Sampla was asked to meet BJP national president JP Nadda, which he did on Monday before putting in his papers. Sampla had been holding the post since 2021. He had resigned ahead of the 2022 Punjab assembly polls when he unsuccessfully contested from the Phagwara seat, but he was reinstated after the elections.

Sampla is expected to take organisational responsibility on the ground alongside new state president Sunil Jakhar.

Though Sampla hails from Jalandhar, he is eager to re-contest from the reserved Hoshiarpur parliamentary seat, which he had been denied in 2019 with the party preferring Som Parkash over him. But now party sources say that his resignation could also indicate that the party was keen on getting him back into the electoral battle for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Sampla had started his career as sarpanch of Sofi Pind in Jalandhar. He remained the chairperson of the Punjab Khadi and Village Industries Board till 2012.