Last Updated:
With a major southern focus in the years to come for the BJP, there is a possibility of the next BJP president coming from the south, with names like G Kishan Reddy and Daggubati Purandeshwari doing the rounds.
It is widely perceived that the BJP will get its new national president before the meeting of the RSS’s highest decision-making body ABPS, to be held in Bangalore from March 21 to 23. (Image: PTI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to get its next National President any time after Holi (March 14) and before March 21. It is widely perceived that the BJP will get its new national president before the meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) highest decision-making body Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, to be held in Bangalore from March 21 to 23.
After the Delhi Assembly election victory, the BJP has become active afresh regarding organisation elections in 50 per cent of the states as mandated by the party constitution for the election of the National President. The selected states have been instructed to conduct the organisation elections by March 14.
Till now, the party has been able to conduct organisational elections only in 12 out of the 18 states required to meet the 50 per cent criterion. If a BJP source is to be believed, over the next few days, the party will run against time to ensure the remaining six states have their organisational elections completed. A highly placed source in the BJP told News18 that he is confident that the whole process will be over “within a week”, citing the “work on war footing”.
This time, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha will assume even more significance, given that the focal point of discussion will be RSS’s 100th year celebration strategy. At least one highly placed source in the BJP told News18 on conditions of anonymity, “Given the importance of this year’s ABPS, the BJP would want its new President to take part in it for better coordination between the Sangh and the party.”
So far, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Assam, Chandigarh, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Meghalaya and Lakshadweep have witnessed the BJP organisational overhaul. Then there are states like West Bengal, which started late due to the RG Kar protest, and now there is no unanimity on the next state president given the current Bengal BJP president, Sukanta Majumdar, has been elevated to being a union minister.
Much delay has also been caused by the Delhi election, the campaigning for which started in December last year and peaked in January. Additionally, Mahakumbh started on January 13 and went on till February 26 in Prayagraj. The BJP leadership was either busy visiting Kumbh or countering opposition’s narratives spun around Kumbh, leaving very little time to concentrate on the organisation election.
But now that the D-day is around, the obvious question seems to be who will fill Nadda’s shoes and become the 12th President of the BJP? Unlike Nadda, who was first appointed as the BJP’s acting National President in 2019 before being formally elected as the National President in 2020, the 12th BJP president will straightaway be a full-time president.
Who Will Be The Next BJP President?
With a major southern focus in the years to come for the BJP, there is a possibility of the next BJP president coming from the south of the Vindhyas. The name of Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy, who was also the BJP president of Andhra Pradesh, is doing the rounds. Incidentally, he comes from the state that produced Bangaru Laxman, who went ahead and became BJP’s national President.
Another name that is doing the rounds from the south also happens to be from Andhra Pradesh — Daggubati Purandeshwari, presently the BJP chief in the NDA ruled state. Though she is a woman and has the legacy of NT Rama Rao, what may go against her is being a relative of TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu — to avoid a conflict of interest. Vanathi Srinivasan, national president of the BJP Mahila Morcha and MLA from Coimbatore, is also being talked about.
However, from the beginning of last year, the names of Dharmendra Pradhan, Vinod Tawde, and Bhupendra Yadav have continuously figured in the probables for their organisational capability and teamwork mindset.
When asked about the next probable BJP president, the BJP source laughed and said, “We know as much as you do about the next BJP president. In fact, we check TV or websites to learn about new names.”
