BHUBANESWAR: Even as the BJP is set to complete organisational elections in at least 50 per cent of the states by January 15, paving the way for election of a new national president to replace incumbent JP Nadda, its Odisha unit is racing against time to meet the deadline.
The state BJP will only be eligible to participate in the election of the national president after appointing its new president. And, the state president election can be held only after its district units are formed.
Unable to reach a consensus on a common candidate to be president in several organisational districts, state president Manmohan Samal and general secretary (organisation) Manas Mohanty have rushed to Delhi to finalise the list in consultation with core committee members in which three Union ministers from Odisha are also members.
The core committee which met in the national capital on Monday reportedly discussed the issue. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is stated to have attended the meeting. National BJP vice-president Baijayant Panda, Odisha in-charge Vijaypal Singh Tomar and deputy in-charge Lata Usendi were also present.
Samal placed the list of probable names for district presidents before the committee for approval. The chief minister returned to Bhubaneswar on Tuesday morning but Samal and Mohanty have stayed back for further discussions, sources in the party said.
Attributing the delay in the election of district presidents to multiple pressure groups within the party, sources said the post has become lucrative after the party assumed power.
“In majority of cases, the district pravari of the party recommends a particular leader to be named as president while the MLAs and MPs have their own choices. As the party is set to elect a new state president, the current leadership does not wish to side with any group. Thus, the confusion and delay,” said a leader involved in the election process.
Samal and Mohanty are learnt to have met national general secretary and in-charge of state’s party affairs Sunil Bansal and several other leaders on Tuesday. The two are expected to return on Wednesday and announce the name of district presidents within a day or two. In all possibility, election of a new state president will be completed by January 25, the sources said.
Interestingly, Bihar MP Sanjay Jaiswal, who was appointed as the election officer for Odisha on January 2 for the election to the post of state president, has not visited the state yet.