Patna, these days, feels less like a campaign capital and more like a political nerve centre where conversations drift easily from local rallies to national equations. As senior BJP leaders and campaign managers from across India gather in Bihar, one topic seems to dominate private chatter: the likelihood of sweeping changes within the party once the Bihar polls are over, regardless of the result.
Multiple functionaries and observers say discussions in Patna have increasingly focused on what insiders are calling a “post-Bihar reset.”
The idea taking shape is that the BJP could undertake a Gujarat-style overhaul the kind that saw all ministers replaced in one stroke (in 2021 and again this month) both at the central organizational level and in key states where governance or political management has drawn criticism.
At least three states are being mentioned in these closed-door discussions Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan all ruled by the BJP but facing growing internal disquiet.
In Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is reportedly under pressure, with multiple corruption allegations surfacing in various departments and complaints about non-performance becoming harder to ignore. In Madhya Pradesh, CM Mohan Yadav has faced a steady stream of negative feedback from both party cadres and local MPs, many of whom have conveyed their dissatisfaction directly to the central leadership. And in the Bhajanlal Sharma led Rajasthan, too, murmurs of administrative drift and factional tensions have reached Delhi, prompting speculation that a leadership change could be on the cards.
The conversations in Patna suggest that the leadership may be readying to use the Bihar election outcome whatever it may be as a political inflection point. If the BJP performs strongly, it could embolden the central leadership to push through a broader renewal drive; if not, it could serve as justification for a comprehensive shake-up aimed at restoring momentum before the next cycle of state polls.
What makes Bihar pivotal is not just its electoral arithmetic but its symbolism. This is the first time the BJP is contesting the state with the intention of projecting its own Chief Ministerial face, stepping beyond its long dependence on Nitish Kumar. A win here would reinforce the party’s narrative of self-reliance and signal readiness to implement similar bold transitions elsewhere.
For now, as leaders crisscross Bihar’s districts, the more consequential story may be unfolding in hotel suites and late-night strategy rooms where the talk isn’t just about the next government in Patna, but about the next phase of power politics in Delhi and the BJP’s state capitals.
