- BJP appoints Ram Madhav as national vice president after six years away from core team
- Sunil Bansal retained as national general secretary, key in BJP election campaigns
- BL Santhosh continues as national general secretary with two RSS pracharaks as deputies
The BJP has announced a new national team under party president Nitin Nabin, eight months after he was appointed the party's national working president, with the return of Ram Madhav and the continuation of several leaders associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) standing out among the appointments.
Madhav has been appointed a national vice president, marking his return to the BJP's core organisation after six years. He began his political career as an RSS pracharak and went on to serve as the organisation's national spokesperson and all-India co-prachar pramukh. After the BJP's victory in the 2014 general election, the RSS sent him to work in the BJP organisation, where he was appointed national general secretary.
He played an important role in expanding the BJP's presence in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir. He was involved in the formation of BJP governments and the strengthening of the party organisation in Assam, Tripura and Nagaland.
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In Jammu and Kashmir, he was the main strategist behind the formation of the BJP-PDP coalition government. The BJP eventually ended its alliance with the People's Democratic Party after the relationship began causing political damage to the party. Then-Governor Satyapal Malik also attempted to draw Madhav into controversies surrounding the state which affected his political trajectory.
When former BJP president JP Nadda announced a new national executive and team in September 2020, Madhav was removed as national general secretary.
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He subsequently returned to active RSS work and was appointed to the RSS national executive.
His return to the BJP now marks a second stint in the party organisation. According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi played an important role in his new assignment. When Madhav was reassigned from the RSS to the BJP in 2014, the RSS had said he should be given a significant responsibility. Sources say PM Modi had assured him of this.
Although the post of national vice president does not necessarily provide extensive opportunities for day-to-day organisational activity, it is generally given to senior leaders. Madhav, however, is unlikely to remain confined to a largely formal role. It is possible that Nitin Nabin could assign him a more significant responsibility in the future.
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Madhav has also remained active in international affairs and diplomacy. He is one of the key figures associated with the think tank India Foundation and has organised conferences dealing with diplomacy and international relations.
Sunil Bansal Retained
The BJP has also retained RSS pracharak Sunil Bansal as national general secretary.
Bansal has played a major role in the BJP's election campaigns and organisation in several states. He was instrumental in the party's four consecutive victories in Uttar Pradesh and later led its efforts in Telangana, Odisha and West Bengal.
He also played a major role in the BJP's landslide victory in Bengal.
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Alongside Bansal, BL Santhosh will continue as national general secretary (organisation). Santhosh, who was appointed to the BJP organisation by the RSS, remains one of the most important figures in the party.
He will be supported by two other RSS pracharaks, Shiv Prakash and Saudan Singh, who will continue as organisation joint general secretaries.
The continuation of Santhosh, Prakash, Singh and Bansal, alongside Madhav's return, gives the new BJP team a strong presence of leaders with long RSS backgrounds.
Who Is On The New Team?
The BJP's national vice presidents include Tirath Singh Rawat from Uttarakhand, Baijayant Panda from Odisha, D Purandeswari from Andhra Pradesh, Rekha Verma from Uttar Pradesh and Sardar Manpreet Singh Badal from Punjab.
Varshaben Narendrabhai Doshi from Gujarat, Bharati Pravin Pawar from Maharashtra, Lal Singh Arya from Madhya Pradesh, M Nagaraj from Karnataka, Tariq Mansoor from Uttar Pradesh and Madhuchhanda Kar from West Bengal are also among the national vice presidents.
Anil Baluni has been given responsibility for the party's communications strategy as media coordinator. He will be assisted by joint coordinators Ashish Usha Agarwal, Pradeep Bhandari and Siddharth Yadav.
Deepak Mhaskey has been appointed social media coordinator. Priti Gandhi, Shivanand Dwivedi, Alok Bhatt and Arun Yadav will assist him as joint coordinators.
