Paving the way for the election of its national president, the BJP is likely to appoint chiefs of several state units soon, party sources said on Thursday (April 17).
Several rounds of consultations have been held by top party leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, besides national president J P Nadda in the last few days. The development comes amid indications that the ongoing process for the selection of state unit chiefs will be complete in most states soon.
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According to the BJP’s constitution, the party has to elect its chiefs in 19 of its 37 organisational states before starting the process to elect its national president.
BJP insiders revealed that since the party’s nationwide membership drive, nearly 15 state presidents have been elected. This is a precursor to picking new office-bearers at various levels of the organisation starting from booths, began in September last year.
However, BJP is yet to pick its chiefs in several major states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka and Gujarat.
Sources said the consultation process with the RSS, considered the ideological mothership of the party, has been continuing.
“Once the appointment is made in some of the states, the process for electing Nadda’s replacement will begin soon,” a party leader said, acknowledging that the entire exercise has stretched for a rather long period of time.
Assembly elections in states like Bihar, where it is due later this year, and West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, where it is due in the first half of the next year, will weigh on the mind of the party’s top brass as it readies to pick a new national president.
Nadda was elected national president in February 2020 and has been on an extension since his three-year term ended.
(With agency inputs)
