Madhya Pradesh BJP to Get New State Chief, Tribal And Women Leaders In Race

The Madhya Pradesh unit of the BJP will get a new state president on July 2, as the party prepares to hand over command to a new face, replacing current chief VD Sharma.

Nominations will be filed on July 1, and the announcement will be made during a working committee meeting in Bhopal the next day.

Union Minister and election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan is expected to reach Bhopal on July 1 to oversee the entire process.

Among the leading contenders is Durga Das Uikey, MP from Betul and a Union Minister of State. A loyalist of the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Mr Uikey is seen as a prominent and acceptable face from the Gond tribe, especially after former minister Vijay Shah faced controversies.

Another strong name is Hemant Khandelwal, a former MP and current MLA from Betul, whose father was a senior RSS leader. His RSS and organisational roots make him a serious candidate.

"This is our election year, and the entire process - from booth-level to national president - is underway. In Madhya Pradesh too, elections have been completed at 65,013 booths. The state president election process will end on July 2 under the supervision of Dharmendra Pradhan," state BJP chief VD Sharma said.

The BJP considers Madhya Pradesh its organisational laboratory. It may also consider appointing a woman leader, especially in light of the upcoming women's reservation implementation.

Women leaders in discussions include: Archana Chitnis, MLA from Burhanpur; Kavita Patidar, Rajya Sabha MP and BJP state general secretary; Nandita Pathak, state BJP Mahila Morcha vice president, who is considered close to Nanaji Deshmukh; Riti Pathak, MLA from Sidhi, Seema Singh Jadon, state BJP vice president, and Ranjana Baghel, a tribal leader and former minister.

The caste equation is expected to have an effect on the selection.

Brahmin: Narottam Mishra, and Rajendra Shukla.

Vaishya: Hemant Khandelwal, and Sudhir Gupta

Kshatriya: Arvind Bhadoria, and Brijendra Pratap Singh

Scheduled Castes (SC): Pradeep Laria, Lal Singh Arya, and Harishankar Khatik

Scheduled Tribes (ST): Gajendra Singh Patel, Durgadas Uikey, and Faggan Singh Kulaste.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 230 assembly seats. Of these, 47 are reserved for ST, of which the BJP holds 24 and the Congress holds 22. At least 35 seats are reserved for SC candidates, where BJP holds 26 and Congress 9.

Congress spokesperson Abhinav Mali said nothing new is going to happen as the BJP has been struggling in both organisation and governance.

"They have had the same [state] president for six years. In Madhya Pradesh, the change has been pending for over a year. From mandal-level fights to internal indecision, it's clear the new president will also be chosen not by merit but by slips - just like the chief minister," Mr Mali said.

Earlier this year, the BJP appointed nine women district presidents out of 60. The new state president will not only carry the responsibility of the 2028 assembly elections but also the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

Voters in the election include all MLAs and MPs, 115 party representatives and office bearers, and all 60 district presidents.