After Nadda who ? The search for the new BJP President is on
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Swarajya Staff
New Delhi is abuzz with a flurry of new announcements as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) takes charge of the Union Government for the third-time in a row.
While the coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the portfolio allotment for the new Cabinet on June 10, BJP is expected to announce its new party face soon too.
The search for the new party chief is on as the current party President Jagat Prakash Nadda’s term ends this month on 30 June.
The saffron party’s constitution which delineates the rules and regulations for the party’s functioning also provides details for the election of the party President.
As per Article 19 of the rule-book, at least twenty members from a State’s executive council can propose a name for the role. The person nominated should have been a part of the council for at least four terms and should have been a member of the party for at least fifteen years.
However, in order to be considered as a candidate, the proposal should be seconded by party State executives of at least four other states. After finalisation of candidates, voting is held where members of national as well as State executive are eligible to vote.
The elected party President then serves a term of three years which can be extended for three years only once.
As of now the senior party functionaries are tight lipped over the names being deliberated for the organisation’s top job.
However, there is unanimity among observers that the future President will continue to be someone who has been associated either with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-BJP’s ideological parent or someone who has been a part of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student organisation affiliated to the RSS.
Notably, the emphasis on selecting an 'organisation' man will be more considering the party's poor show in the recently concluded general elections. In the results for the polls, the BJP's seat share dropped from 303 in 2019 to 240 at the present.
Among the prospective names being speculated as the future BJP President, four are-Sunil Bansal, Om Mathur, Vinod Tawde and Devendra Fadnavis.
While Bansal and Tawde are among the seven General Secretaries of the party, Fadnavis is presently the Deputy Chief Minister and member of the party’s all powerful Central Election Committee.
Sunil Bansal
Considered to be one of the few close confidantes of the former BJP President and Home Minister Amit Shah, Bansal hails from the State of Rajasthan. The BJP leader first cut his teeth in social life as a Swayamsevak in the RSS and later as a student activist in the ABVP.
Bansal’s first tryst with power was as a General Secretary of the Rajasthan University Students Council. However, he shot to fame after being appointed as the Co-Incharge of the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit.
Capitalising on his deep network within the party and his ability to mobilize cadres, Bansal is credited with orchestrating the BJP's successful campaigns in Uttar Pradesh, especially the landslide victory in the 2017 State Assembly elections and the strong performance in the 2019 general elections.
Om Prakash Mathur
A native of Rajasthan like Bansal, Mathur has been influential in the party's organisation and elec- toral strategies, particularly in his home State as well as in Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Mathur's political journey began with the RSS as a Pracharak in 1972. Later he transitioned to the BJP, where he rose through the ranks to first become the General Secretary of the Rajasthan State unit in 1990 and later as its President in 2008.
Considered to be a shrewd electoral strategist, Mathur has been in charge of the party's affairs in several States, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. It is in Uttar Pradesh where Mathur as Central Election Committee's delegate played a pivotal role in strategizing and leading successful election campaigns in the 2017 state assembly polls.
His work in Chhattisgarh is particularly notable, where as the State in-charge for the State Assembly polls, he helped the party achieve majority and win back trust of voters after a gap of five years which saw Congress rule over the State. (To be contd)
New Delhi is abuzz with a flurry of new announcements as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) takes charge of the Union Government for the third-time in a row.
While the coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the portfolio allotment for the new Cabinet on June 10, BJP is expected to announce its new party face soon too.
The search for the new party chief is on as the current party President Jagat Prakash Nadda’s term ends this month on 30 June.
The saffron party’s constitution which delineates the rules and regulations for the party’s functioning also provides details for the election of the party President.
As per Article 19 of the rule-book, at least twenty members from a State’s executive council can propose a name for the role. The person nominated should have been a part of the council for at least four terms and should have been a member of the party for at least fifteen years.
However, in order to be considered as a candidate, the proposal should be seconded by party State executives of at least four other states. After finalisation of candidates, voting is held where members of national as well as State executive are eligible to vote.
The elected party President then serves a term of three years which can be extended for three years only once.
As of now the senior party functionaries are tight lipped over the names being deliberated for the organisation’s top job.
However, there is unanimity among observers that the future President will continue to be someone who has been associated either with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-BJP’s ideological parent or someone who has been a part of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student organisation affiliated to the RSS.
Notably, the emphasis on selecting an 'organisation' man will be more considering the party's poor show in the recently concluded general elections. In the results for the polls, the BJP's seat share dropped from 303 in 2019 to 240 at the present.
Among the prospective names being speculated as the future BJP President, four are-Sunil Bansal, Om Mathur, Vinod Tawde and Devendra Fadnavis.
While Bansal and Tawde are among the seven General Secretaries of the party, Fadnavis is presently the Deputy Chief Minister and member of the party’s all powerful Central Election Committee.
Sunil Bansal
Considered to be one of the few close confidantes of the former BJP President and Home Minister Amit Shah, Bansal hails from the State of Rajasthan. The BJP leader first cut his teeth in social life as a Swayamsevak in the RSS and later as a student activist in the ABVP.
Bansal’s first tryst with power was as a General Secretary of the Rajasthan University Students Council. However, he shot to fame after being appointed as the Co-Incharge of the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit.
Capitalising on his deep network within the party and his ability to mobilize cadres, Bansal is credited with orchestrating the BJP's successful campaigns in Uttar Pradesh, especially the landslide victory in the 2017 State Assembly elections and the strong performance in the 2019 general elections.
Om Prakash Mathur
A native of Rajasthan like Bansal, Mathur has been influential in the party's organisation and elec- toral strategies, particularly in his home State as well as in Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Mathur's political journey began with the RSS as a Pracharak in 1972. Later he transitioned to the BJP, where he rose through the ranks to first become the General Secretary of the Rajasthan State unit in 1990 and later as its President in 2008.
Considered to be a shrewd electoral strategist, Mathur has been in charge of the party's affairs in several States, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. It is in Uttar Pradesh where Mathur as Central Election Committee's delegate played a pivotal role in strategizing and leading successful election campaigns in the 2017 state assembly polls.
His work in Chhattisgarh is particularly notable, where as the State in-charge for the State Assembly polls, he helped the party achieve majority and win back trust of voters after a gap of five years which saw Congress rule over the State. (To be contd)