Lucknow, Dec. 13 -- Living up to its reputation for throwing last-minute surprises and ending all speculation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to appoint Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary as its next Uttar Pradesh president.

Chaudhary emerged as the lone candidate to file his nomination on Saturday, making his elevation a foregone conclusion despite the formalities still remaining.

The party is scheduled to make a formal announcement at its state convention here on Sunday in the presence of Union minister Piyush Goyal, who is the presidential election incharge for UP.

Half-a-dozen names that had been doing the rounds for months after being shortlisted by the state leadership and sent to the Centre for a final...