NEW DELHI: The BJP, which is planning to expand its team of office-bearers, will soon announce appointments to the existing vacant posts in its core group.
BJP chief Amit Shah is expected to appoint five general secretaries and team incharges of over a dozen cells which he had dissolved in November.
Of the five general secretary slots, three fell vacant when J P Nadda, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Ram Shankar Katheriya were inducted into the Union Cabinet and the other had remained vacant since August, when Shah took over as BJP chief.
Sources within the party said that the BJP point man would choose leaders keeping “regional and caste calculations in mind”.
Among those being considered for the posts of general secretary are Madhya Pradesh MP Kailash Vijayvargiya; UP in-charge Om Mathur; party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain; former Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda; former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister R Ashok and Bihar leader Nand Kishor Yadav.
The saffron party is likely to include a Dalit face in the team as Katheriya, and Thawar Chand Gehlot are now part of the Central Government.
Leaders from Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh may be made incharge of cells, as the party is focusing on elections in the states.
Sources close to Shah said hectic parleys were on in the party regarding the appointments.
When asked if the prospective general secretaries would be promoted to Central posts, sources said there was no rule in the party constitution against a person holding two posts.
The State in-charge slots vacated by J P Nadda, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Ram Shankar Katheriya, ex-party vice-president Mukthar Abbas Naqvi and Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das are also expected to be filled soon.
Shah, who is on a pan-India tour to popularise the party’s membership drive, is holding talks with local leaders to take stock of the political situation in their areas.
Amit Shah has also addressed rallies in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra as part of the membership drive.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah will hold a rally in Delhi to kick-start the party’s election campaign, after which the BJP chief will visit West Bengal on January 20; Punjab on the 22nd; and Patna on the 23rd.