BJP faces triple challenge balancing caste, leadership, and regional power dynamics.
New Delhi: After Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post of Vice President, the Bharatiya Janata Party faced a three-way challenge of selecting candidates for different posts. Till now, BJP was brainstorming about the selection of a candidate for the post of new national president, then after Dhankhar’s resignation, the challenge of finding a candidate for the new Vice President also came up. Because for both the posts, such faces should be selected that can fit in the caste equation. Along with this, the matter of Uttar Pradesh state president has also been added.
The way the opposition is doing politics of backward classes, especially OBCs, has raised a challenge. After Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation, the murmur of farmer and Jat politics has started. Congress and the opposition have started giving importance to the issue by accusing BJP of being anti-Jat and anti-farmer.
Although the focus of the opposition is currently on Bihar elections, after one and a half years, elections of states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab are to be held. Jat and farmer politics have been going on in these three states. Uttar Pradesh is an important state for the BJP because it makes the path to Delhi easier due to the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats.
After returning home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started brainstorming with party leaders. The Sangh is also active. Because whatever decisions are to be taken now, they have to be taken in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with many major states. Also, PM Modi and the Sangh will take decisions keeping in mind the future of BJP.
Whoever becomes the national president will face the challenge of forming a new BJP and winning the 2029 Lok Sabha elections along with many big states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. For the first time, BJP is deliberating deeply on the caste equation in the selection of the new national president in the party. Because in the General Elections 2024, the politics of caste and constitution being in danger by the opposition had caused damage somewhere. However, BJP had handled the situation in the state elections held later.
But the way the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and the entire opposition with him are doing politics of backward classes has increased the concern of BJP. Congress has even launched a campaign across the country regarding OBC politics. The opposition feels that Hindus are being united in caste politics. Division can stop BJP’s victory. The entire opposition, along with Congress, is demanding 80% reservation for the backward classes in government jobs. Along with this, they are making the issue of fixing reservations in private educational institutions.
Out of the remaining 20%, a 10% reservation for the poor sections of the upper castes is also being given importance. The opposition has made this its main issue in the Bihar elections.
Congress strategists believe that even though the issue of backward class politics may not have an impact right now, it will have an impact sooner or later. Although BJP has Prime Minister Modi as the biggest OBC face, Congress is now confusing the common people by accusing PM Modi of changing caste.
Seeing this politics of the opposition, BJP was looking for such a face for the national president with whom it could respond. BJP had to manage the caste equation of Uttar Pradesh along with the center. If the national president was from OBC, then a Brahmin had to be given a chance in UP. But in the meantime, the election of the Vice President again raised a new challenge.
It is certain that only people with a hardcore Sangh background will be appointed to all three posts. But now it has to be decided how to manage the caste equation. Sources say that BJP will take a decision keeping in mind Brahmin, OBC, and Dalit politics. If an OBC becomes the national president, then one Brahmin and Dalit can be made the Vice President and the President of UP, respectively. Sources say that either a Brahmin or a Dalit can become the Vice President. But the politics of farmers and Jats also has to be managed. This is the biggest challenge for BJP—how, where, and whom to manage.
In 2022, Prime Minister Modi made decisions for the posts of President and Vice President as per his own discretion. The country was surprised by choosing Draupadi Murmu, who comes from the tribal community, for the post of President. Similarly, Dhankhar was made the candidate for the post of Vice President. Dhankhar was not basically from Sangh background, which somewhere did not go in the interest of BJP. Hence, this time BJP is not going to make any such mistake that it has to regret later.
Hence, this time Sangh will have an important role in the selection of all the three posts—President, Vice President, and Uttar Pradesh President.
