BJP’s new president selection may get delayed

The party’s January 15 deadline for state elections is delayed due to internal factionalism hindering district and mandal polls.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing delays in its organizational elections due to incomplete elections in various states and that is why the ruling party still awaits its new national president. According to sources, the election, originally expected to be completed by January 30, is likely to be pushed to February or March.

The party had set January 15 deadline for state-level elections, but internal factionalism in many states has hindered the completion of district and mandal president elections. Not a single state has finalized its state president yet, which is necessary before announcing the schedule for the national president’s election.

At a meeting of organizational general secretaries earlier this month, states were urged to expedite the election process. Alongside state presidents, members of the national council were also to be elected. While election officers were appointed for every state, only Chhattisgarh has made significant progress, with other states lagging behind.

Elections at the district and mandal levels were supposed to conclude by December, but they remain incomplete in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, where consensus among members is proving difficult. Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Jammu & Kashmir have also been delayed.

With the ongoing assembly election in Delhi, the election process in these states is expected to extend into March. Incumbent president J.P. Nadda’s term has ended last year but was extended for six months to oversee the Lok Sabha election preparations. His term will continue until the completion of the election process for a new president. This is the first time in BJP’s history that the national president’s election has been delayed due to overlapping assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Sources suggest that in light of Congress’s push for backward-class politics through it’s ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ campaign, the BJP might consider appointing a Dalit leader as its next national president this time. This move could strengthen BJP’s outreach among marginalized communities. The Congress, which announced its pro-dalit campaign on January 3, had to postpone its launch due to the passing of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

A revised circular issued by General Secretary K.C. Venugopal has now directed the campaign to begin on January 21, culminating in a major rally in Mau, Madhya Pradesh, on January 27.

The year-long campaign aims to highlight Ambedkar’s contributions and target the BJP over its stance on social justice issues.
By emphasizing slogans like Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan, Congress seeks to strengthen its connection with backward classes and Dalit communities, presenting a direct challenge to the BJP’s electoral strategy.

As Congress moves forward with its campaign, the BJP faces the dual challenge of countering this narrative while resolving internal factionalism to complete its organizational elections in time.