Ranjana Bajpai is Samajwadi Party's women wing chief

LUCKNOW: The Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday posted Ranjana Bajpai as national president of the SP Mahila Sabha-the party women's wing. The party has also announced the name of Vishambhar Prasad Nishad as party candidate for Rajya Sabha, election for which is slated for the near future.
A Mulayam-loyalist, Nishad has been former MP and minister in state government during the SP regime.
Bajpai has been with the SP for quite sometime now except for a brief stint in the Bahujan Samaj Party during which she contested the 2012 assembly elections from Sewata assembly constituency in Sitapur district. Having failed to make it through, she abandoned the BSP and returned to SP shortly after results for assembly elections were announced.
On her return, she was appointed advisor in State Planning Commission, giving her the status of minister. She was among the 36 leaders of the party removed from posts with minister status. Rattled by the party's rout in Lok Sabha polls, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister had sacked 36 party leaders, including Bajpai, who had status of minister of state in his government. In the elections, SP could manage to secure barely five seats, all of which were secured by members of the Yadav clan.
The former chairperson of State Women Commission, Bajpai's first job at hand is to constitute the Mahila Sabha's National Executive within a fortnight, for its final approval by the party president.