In BJP's Hunt For New Party Boss, 100 Leaders Consulted, Decision Soon: Sources

The BJP is likely to get a new National President before the Bihar election dates are announced, sources told NDTV Friday afternoon. Sources said the party expects to contest the election under new national leadership, but said that selection had been delayed for many reasons.

A major reason is the extensive consultations have taken place.

Senior leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, have reached out to 100 top figures to canvas for names.

Sources said talks have been held with former party chiefs and senior Union Ministers, as well as leaders associated with the RSS and/or BJP and who have held constitutional posts.

Another reason for the delay is the September 9 vice presidential election.

The BJP did not anticipate a Veep poll at this time. But now that it has been necessitated - by Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation last month, the party is working to ensure its candidate - Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan - will win with the maximum number of votes.

A third reason for the delay are elections to pick the presidents of important state units, such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka. Sources had earlier said the BJP wants all state leadership, newly elected where needed, in place before selecting a National President.

This is in line with the party's Constitution, which says at least 19 of its 36 state and union territory units must have an elected head before a National President can be chosen.

Last month the BJP had finished this exercise in 28 states.

Now, apart from UP, Gujarat, and Karnataka, Haryana, Delhi, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Manipur are left. In Punjab, the BJP has appointed a working president.

The incumbent BJP National President is JP Nadda, who was elected in January 2020 and has received two extensions since his three-year term ended. The first was due to the 2024 Lok Sabha election and the second was because of an organisational exercise.

A similar philosophy is being followed for election of mandal chiefs. In this case the BJP has decided to give a chance to next-generation leaders by restricting the age limit to below 40.

For district and state chiefs, the candidate must be an active member of the BJP for at least ten years. This was done because there is dissatisfaction among BJP workers due to leaders coming from other parties getting important responsibilities in the organisation.

However, there have been some exceptions.