BJP is set to elect a new party president, focusing on boosting its prospects in southern states.
NEW DELHI: After back-to-back victories in Haryana, Maharashtra, and the recent Delhi Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will now focus on the upcoming
According to top party leaders involved in the party elections, the saffron party is expected to elect a new party president by the end of March.
Currently, Union Minister J.P. Nadda has been the party president since 2020. His tenure is credited with the party securing thumping majorities in several Assembly elections, including those in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi, and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, among others.
Party insiders claim that the process to elect the new party president was initially planned for completion in January 2025. However, due to the Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and the recent elections in Delhi, the focus shifted temporarily.
A top leader, closely involved in the process, mentioned that the saffron party has already completed the state president elections in 10 out of 36 states and Union Territories.
Similarly, the election process in 16 other states is nearing completion, with several re-elections and new appointments taking place.
“As of now, nearly 70% of the internal party elections at the state units have been completed, and the remaining process will soon be finished,” a party leader said.
“The election process in Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi state units will begin soon as the entire focus was on the Assembly polls,” he added.
The election process in West Bengal, which will witness Assembly polls next year, is also progressing rapidly, with approximately 65% of district and mandal bloc presidents elected.
It is notable that RSS supremo Dr Mohan Bhagwat was on a 10-day visit to West Bengal this month. Party leaders believe his presence in the poll-bound state is likely to give a significant push to the state cadre, where the saffron party is hoping to challenge the Trinamool Congress, a state where right-wing politics was once considered taboo.
Similarly, Bihar, which will hold Assembly polls this year, is running its election process at a high pace. New presidents at the grassroots level have already been elected in most areas.
The challenge for Nadda’s successor will be to strengthen the saffron party in the southern states, where the party is still considered relatively weak.
When asked whether the new party president would be from the southern states, a top BJP leader, speaking anonymously, said, “BJP is the biggest party in the world, and we believe in internal democracy. As of now, I cannot comment on whether the new president would be from the southern states, but anything can happen in politics, and there might be someone from the southern state who could become the new party president.”
Among the top contenders for the Party President post are BJP OBC Morcha National President Dr. K. Laxman, Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy (both from Telangana), Union Minister Pralhad Joshi (from Karnataka), and Gujarat BJP President and Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil.