The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday appointed Uttar Pradesh minister Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary as the party’s state president.

Chaudhary, a leader belonging to the Jat community, has replaced Swatantra Dev Singh, who was made a minister in the Adityanath-led state government.

Chaudhary’s appointment is seen as the BJP is attempting to reach out to the influential Jats in the state, PTI reported. The community were at the forefront of the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s three contentious agriculture laws that have now been repealed.

With the appointment of Chaudhary, the panchayati raj minister in the Cabinet, Uttar Pradesh has become the third state where the BJP will be headed by a Jat leader, PTI reported. Earlier, the BJP appointed leaders OP Dhankar and Satish Poonia as party presidents in Haryana and Rajasthan.

“He [Chaudhary] is an organisation man and somebody who has conducted himself extremely well in whatever responsibility he has been given,” said BJP’s National Secretary Satya Kumar, ANI reported. “He has all the abilities and the capabilities to hold the post in a crucial state like Uttar Pradesh.”

Chaudhury joined the BJP in 1989 after a long stint with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was made the member of legislative council in 2016.