All in the family

Poonam Mahajan took over as president of the youth wing of BJP

Last week, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Poonam Mahajan took over as president of the youth wing of her party, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM). Mahajan represents Mumbai North Central constituency in Parliament. She is the daughter of party stalwart Pramod Mahajan, who died in 2006. At BJYM, she succeeded Anurag Thakur, son of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal. Thakur represents the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency. With Assembly polls to Himachal Pradesh scheduled for end-2017, Thakur is expected to lead his party in the state. He is also the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. There was talk within BJP, and outside, as one member of a political dynasty took over from another. Some pointed out that the party was no different from other dynastic parties that it criticises. Mahajan’s cousin Pritam Munde is a BJP Lok Sabha member and Pankaja Munde is the minister for rural development in BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra. Pankaja and Pritam are daughters of Gopinath Munde, who died in 2014. Gopinath Munde was married to Pramod Mahajan’s sister Pradnya.