Former Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda was on Monday appointed the new working President of the BJP.

Announcing it here, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the decision has been taken following a formal request from Amit Shah to relinquish his post as BJP chief following his appointment as Home Minister.

Shah relinquishes

“As BJP President, Amit Shah has served the party for the last five years in an exemplary fashion. The party won several elections in the States. In the Lok Sabha elections, too, it was Amit Shah’s organisation that complimented the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and popularity. After the PM gave him a new responsibility as Home Minister, Amit Shah had himself requested that he would be busy with his ministerial duties and someone else should be appointed BJP President,” said Rajnath Singh, following a meeting of the BJP parliamentary board chaired by the PM.

The Defence Minister said while most members of the parliamentary board were of the opinion that Shah should continue, he insisted that someone else be appointed.

“We were of the opinion that he should continue, at least till the organisational elections are. But he insisted that someone else should take charge. In the discussion that we had, everyone unanimously agreed that JP Nadda should be appointed working President.”

Not in Cabinet

It was reported exclusively in BusinessLine on May 30 that Nadda was tipped to be Shah’s successor as party President.

Nadda, an affable, low-profile leader from Himachal Pradesh has worked closely with Shah in several Assembly and the just-concluded Lok Sabha concluded elections.

The fact that he was not included in the Union Cabinet for a second term was a clear pointer to him succeeding Shah in the party.

Although the BJP Constitution does not specifically prevent anyone holding an official post from simultaneously remain the party President, Shah has himself requested to be relieved of his duties as BJP chief.

Nadda’s task

Shah formally took over in July 2014 and the tenure allows him two consecutive terms of three years each.

As such, he has more than one year left in his second tenure.

Nadda’s advantage is that he is trusted by Shah and is sensible enough to follow the line of command emanating from Modi and Shah.

So, the BJP’s future challenges — whether it is upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand or dismembering of the Trinamool Congress and Mamata Banerjee’s rule in West Bengal — can be planned and executed in perfect harmony with Nadda as the head of the party organisation.