NEW DELHI: The BJP is busy managing election battles on two fronts: First is the Assembly polls in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the second is the election of the new party chief. The central leadership is learnt to have expedited the organisational process, and may spring a surprise in picking a candidate for the party president.
The appointment of the new BJP president through organisational elections is expected to take place in the second or third week of January 2025.
A meeting on the party’s presidential election is due on November 20 at the BJP headquarters. It will bring together senior leaders and office-bearers from the central election committee. The discussions, party sources said, will set the stage for the presidential election, where the successor to JP Nadda will be decided.
Following the November 20 meeting, the BJP will conduct a workshop on November 22 for its office-bearers and active members. This workshop will include national and state-level office-bearers and party general secretaries. These meetings and workshops are thought to be crucial in shaping the process leading up to the election of the new party chief.
The November 20 meeting is scheduled days before the results of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. This will be followed by a national workshop at the party headquarters on November 22. Almost all senior leaders of the central organisation, including home minister Amit Shah and the incumbent party chief JP Nadda, will attend the two meetings, sources said.
The November 22 meeting will include around 125 party office-bearers, and will see an extensive discussion on the election process for the new president, including preliminary deliberations about the potential candidates.
However, a senior party leader hinted that the BJP might surprise everyone with its candidate selection for the national president’s post. “The selection will send a strong pan-India message,” said a party leader, suggesting that a woman candidate, possibly from the OBC or SC communities, may be under consideration.
Adding pace to the process, the party has already appointed K Laxman as the national election officer, with three co-election officers to assist him in overseeing the election process. Laxman is the national president of the party’s OBC Morcha and a member of the party’s central election committee.
After his appointment as the national election officer for the party’s presidential polls, Laxman has formed the appeals committee, with senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh as its convener, and Vijaypal Singh Tomar, Sanjay Bhatia, and Gajendra Patel as co-conveners. The committee’s role is to ensure the integrity of the election process, preventing any irregularities.