BJP has appointed popular Kurmi leader and Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, as its next Uttar Pradesh president on Sunday. The 61-year-old is a seven-time Member of Parliament from Maharajganj and the fourth Kurmi leader to lead the party. He succeeds Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, a Jat leader who was appointed UP BJP chief amid farm law protests.