The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) got a new national president today as its working president Jagat Prakash Nadda was elected unopposed and replaced Amit Shah from the top post. He emerged as the only leader in the fray following the nomination process in which his candidature was endorsed by top party leaders.
Senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, who is the incharge of the organisational election process, made the announcement at the party headquarters in Delhi.
Outgoing president Amit Shah and other senior leaders congratulated the Himachal Pradesh leader, who had been serving as the party’s working president. He will serve for three years at the helm.
Home Minister Amit Shah remained at the helm for five-and-a-half years, Nadda’s election brought an end of Amit Shah era.
As BJP had earlier stated that the announcement will come by afternoon, suggests there won’t be any one apart from JP Nadda, who is backed by Modi-Shah duo, will throw his hat into. Earlier the party through an official communique said that “if an election is at all necessary”, it will take place on Jan 21.
Meanwhile, all senior ministers are asked to be in the party office, on Monday.
Though, many believe, Shah will have the last say on all macro decisions like pre poll alliances or top organisational appointments, but will be free from daily monitoring of the organisation.
Shah himself wanted this, due to which Nadda was brought in as the working President of the party as key legislations like abrogation of Article 370, Triple Talaq and finally Citizenship Amendment Act meant Shah, who is the home minister as well, had to prioritize his works.
The party constitution mandates completion of election of at least 50 per cent of state Presidents for the election of national President to happen. In the last few days, the BJP has completed the election of a slew of state Presidents like in West Bengal, Nagaland among others.
The process of election of the national BJP president is quite elaborate and has been described in detail in the party constitution, which says that the national President shall be elected by an electoral college, comprising members of the national council and the state councils.
“Any 20 members of the electoral college of a state can jointly propose the name of a person, who has been an active member for four terms and has 15 years of membership, for the post of national President. Such joint proposal should come from not less then five states where elections have been completed for the national council. The consent of the candidate is necessary,” it says.
The BJP leader from Himachal Pradesh Nadda was appointed as the party’s working president in July, 2019.
In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Nadda was in-charge of the BJP’s election campaign in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, where the party faced a tough challenge from the grand alliance of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The party won 62 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Apart from handling crucial states for the BJP, Nadda was a cabinet minister in the first tenure of the Modi government and has been the member of the BJP’s top decision making body, the Parliamentary board.