Consultations for appointing a new BJP president are in full swing with party General Secretaries JP Nadda and Amit Shah emerging as front-runners for the post.
Besides present party President Rajnath Singh’s elevation to the Council of Ministers, a number of other posts have fallen vacant.
Although the BJP Constitution prescribes a procedure for the election of the party president, it is not always strictly followed. Consultations between the RSS and the BJP result in a consensus over a candidate who is then formally elected and endorsed by the National Council.
Accordingly, Rajnath met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday morning after discussions with RSS leader Suresh Soni. Rajnath reportedly discussed the plan of succession with Soni and other RSS leaders.
Some reports said that there was a discussion about omissions with regard to representation in the Cabinet from Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which handed big wins to the BJP in the general elections.
These States are poorly represented with only one Minister of State from Rajasthan and none from the other two.
There is a feeling in the BJP after the general elections that the party should not be neglected after the victory in the same manner as it was when the NDA was in power last time. When Atal Behari Vajpayee was Prime Minister, the BJP’s talented leaders moved to the Cabinet and the party was weakened.
With the 2014 victory, the BJP is infused with fresh hope of reviving the party in regions it has been hitherto weak — the north-eastern, southern and eastern States. Hence, a need is being felt for a party president who has enough drive to energise the organisation and expand it in new areas.