The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) delay in choosing its new national president is drawing concern from both party workers and supporters, who say it is creating a negative impression among the public.
Several party workers, speaking on condition of anonymity, have admitted that the delay reflects poorly on the internal functioning of the organisation.
“Yes, we face people’s queries who say - ‘Jab ye apna party ka president nahi time pe chun sakte to aur kya crucial decision le sakte country ke hit mein’ (When they can’t elect their own party president on time, how can they take crucial decisions in the country’s interest?),” remarked a senior worker from Bihar, pleading anonymity.
Like him, many party workers based in the national capital, including some office-bearers, privately acknowledge that the delay is casting the organisation in a poor light.
“It is widely viewed in public that all is not well within the organisation over the election of party's national president,” a senior functionary remarked.
Sources have indicated that this is the first instance of such a prolonged delay in the election of the party’s national president. “The public perception is turning otherwise on party leadership as to why the election of party's new president is not being done. The people think the BJP has differences with RSS over the issue, while some speculate that BJP faces internal lobbies that are delaying it. What can we say when our bosses are not understanding it?” said a senior BJP leader, also speaking under condition of anonymity.
Several BJP workers from Delhi and other states told that the delay in electing a new party president is not helping the organisation. Many felt that the party should speed up the internal processes, including the state-level elections, to complete the appointment without further delay.
Meanwhile, some sources have suggested that the party is looking to nominate a consensus candidate who is acceptable to both the BJP and the RSS.
“But the election of a woman as national president will compensate for the perception loss that the party is suffering due to the delay,” a seasoned BJP leader remarked.
It is expected that the BJP’s central leadership will complete the election process for the new national president between the last week of June and the first week of July.
Names currently circulating as potential candidates include Union Ministers Dharamendra Pradhan, Bhupendra Yadav, Manohar Lal Khattar, Piyush Goyal, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and G. Kishan Reddy. The party is reportedly considering its final choice of candidate based on organisational experience, regional representation, and caste balance.
The incumbent national president, JP Nadda, who also holds the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare portfolio in the Modi cabinet, has been serving as the party’s national organisational head since 2020. His term was extended following the 2024 general elections, despite the BJP falling short of its targeted number of seats.
Meanwhile, a senior and reliable source within the party has indicated that a central election committee is likely to be formed soon to oversee the organisational election for the party’s top post. It is also being suggested in political circles in the national capital that the choice of successor to JP Nadda will reflect the direction the party intends to take in the future.
“The party president in the BJP not only serves the organisational needs but also delivers a message of the party’s current political principles and priorities, considering caste equation,” said a source.