The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated the process to elect state units chiefs as a precursor to electing its national president to replace JP Nadda, the Union Health Minister in the Narendra Modi government, in July.
The BJP, the country’s largest political party in terms of representation in Parliament and state legislatures, has initiated its internal organisational elections, starting with the appointment of state unit presidents across India.
The internal election process in the saffron party’s 37 organisational states is expected to be completed in the next two to three weeks, party sources said, adding that in states like Jharkhand, the exercise would conclude by the end of next month.
Several BJP state unit presidents are expected to be elected within the current week itself, they said.
The BJP’s constitution requires the election of its presidents in at least 19 out of its 37 organisational states before the process to elect its national president begins, and the saffron party is set to cross the threshold on July 1.
According to the BJP constitution, district presidents are elected after polls are held in half of the party’s blocks; state presidents are chosen after elections in half of the districts; and the national president is elected only after state presidents have been appointed in at least half of the organisational states.
The BJP now has new state presidents, including some who were re-elected, in 16 states, a figure that is likely to rise in the days to come. Some big states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh may follow suit in the next few days.
The names of new BJP state presidents for Uttarakhand and Maharashtra are likely to be announced on July 1.
Next week, the BJP is expected to announce state unit presidents in several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
The term of the party’s national president, JP Nadda, officially ended in January 2023. The party leadership had extended his tenure until June 2024 in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Now, the organisational election process is gaining momentum, and the appointment of a new national president is likely to take place soon, party sources added.