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Two senior Delhi-based BJP leaders told News18 on condition of anonymity that changing the “face of the party” in January just ahead of an election is best avoided
Will the successor of JP Nadda and BJP’s next national president be chosen before the Delhi election which is scheduled at the beginning of 2025? (Getty)
Will the successor of JP Nadda and BJP’s next national president be chosen before the Delhi election which is scheduled at the beginning of 2025? The answer depends on a number of factors — when the Election Commission conducts polls, how soon the BJP completes its presidential elections and how much time the party is left with in between the two elections.
WHERE IS THE PROCESS STUCK?
Whenever BJP has to find a successor for its national president, a detailed electoral process is kicked off. This was done by the party in mid-October by naming K Laxman as national returning officer, along with three national co-returning officers — Naresh Bansal, Rekha Verma and Sambit Patra. While the BJP has provisions of an electoral college, the party in its history has never seen a contest for the post, which has always been selected with unanimity.
Now that the membership drive is over, various committees will be set up at the Mandal, district, regional and state level. The president elected at every level nominates office bearers according to his or her wishes. While ideally one should wait for all state organisations to get revamped, that would take a long time. Hence, the BJP constitution allows elections once 50 per cent of the state committees have been formed. The BJP has been tight-lipped so far about whether the 50 per cent limit has been achieved, but sources say the search for Nadda’s successor will have to wait a while since the ceiling has not been met.
NADDA’S SUCCESSOR BEFORE DELHI POLL?
In September this year, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had asked for assembly elections to be held in the Capital along with Maharashtra, where a new House must be elected before November 26. That boat, however, has sailed. Now, Delhi assembly election is scheduled to be held in either January or February 2025. The term of the Delhi Assembly ends on February 23, 2025.
While a large section of the party thinks the BJP is “very much comfortable” spearheading the exercise any day of the month — December 2024 or January 2025 that the “leadership deems fit” — at least two senior Delhi-based BJP leaders told News18 on condition of anonymity that changing the “face of the party” in January just ahead of an election is best avoided. They also told News18 that such views are communicated to senior leaders through the “right forums”.
CAN THEY WRAP UP IN DECEMBER?
News18 has reliably learnt that all state units have been told to get their presidents elected and have them nominate their team by the first week of December. BJP general secretary Arun Singh, who is also in-charge of the BJP headquarters, is learnt to be in regular coordination with state units.
The election office that is now operating out of the 6A, Deen Dayan Upadhyay Marg office is in regular coordination with states and Singh’s office.
Party sources suggest the BJP, in eventualities of supposed inauspicious period, will likely ignore them. The source has cited a precedence from 2023 when the central observers for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, where the BJP then won elections, were announced amid ‘Kharmas’. The chief ministerial pick was also announced by the BJP during the “inauspicious” period, breaking years of tradition.
