The central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which awaits its new national president, has had to step in to quell disagreements and differences in a clutch of states such as Karnataka and Telangana over the choice of who will lead party’s state unit. In Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the process of selecting new state unit chiefs has also been mired in controversies amid lack of consensus on the probable candidates, people aware of the details said.
The process of electing new state chiefs has a bearing on the election of the new national president. As per the party’s constitution, a new national president is elected after organisational elections, including completion of appointment of state unit presidents in at least 50% of the states. The term of incumbent party chief JP Nadda was over last year, but he was given an extension keeping in view the general election.
With organisational polls still underway and yet to be completed in the requisite number of states, Nadda’s successor, who was expected to be announced in January, is still awaited.
“The process of electing a new president is laid down in the party’s constitution, but it is mostly done through consensus. The party leadership seeks the views of the legislators, the councillors, the urban and rural body representatives as well as the cadre at large, but a candidate is picked for leadership qualities, and keeping in mind factors such as caste, age and gender,” a party functionary said, requesting anonymity.
The leader added: “In every state there is more than one contender for the job. Even though we rarely have elections, it is usually selection... in case of a disagreement, senior party leaders including the ‘sagathan mantri’ (organisational general secretary) are given the task of building consensus, as was done in Rajasthan.”
{{/usCountry}}The leader added: “In every state there is more than one contender for the job. Even though we rarely have elections, it is usually selection... in case of a disagreement, senior party leaders including the ‘sagathan mantri’ (organisational general secretary) are given the task of building consensus, as was done in Rajasthan.”
{{/usCountry}}In Rajasthan, Madan Rathore, who was announced as the state BJP president on Saturday, was initially given the top job in July last year. A section of leaders that wanted a new face pointed out that the OBC leader had taken a stance against the party’s decision of not fielding him from Sumerpur seat in the 2023 assembly polls.
Rathore, a two-term legislator who had initially announced contesting as an independent, eventually toed the party line claiming he followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s instructions.
The open rebellion in Karnataka and Telangana has not gone down well with the central leadership. While the party issued a show-cause notice to its Vijayapura legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for criticising incumbent Karnataka unit chief BY Vijayendra, it is also learnt to have conveyed its displeasure to leaders in Telangana for bickering in public.
“There is a section of party leaders, other than Yatnal and his supporters who feel that Vijayendra should make way for a more experienced leader who can take others along. There have been some murmurs about how he is perceived to be domineering, and some of the older leaders have expressed concern that the party is seen to be fostering dynastic politics in the state, while the PM himself speaks against it,” a second party functionary said, declining to be named.
Shikaripura MLA Vijayendra, who is the son of BJP veteran and former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa, was appointed as party president in November 2023.
In Telangana, where Union minister G Kishan Reddy replaced Bandi Sanjay as the state president in July 2023, a section of leaders is pushing for a more aggressive leader. “In some districts such as Nalgonda and Suryapet, there were differences over the choice of candidates, but the issue has been resolved. As for the state president there are some names that are doing the rounds, but we are expecting the state unit to iron out the differences and come up with a name very soon,” the second leader added.
In Madhya Pradesh, where VD Sharma has been helming the state unit chief for over five years, there is a clamour for a new face. People aware of the details said caste will be an important factor in the state, where CM Mohan Yadav is an OBC, and the new state chief could be a Brahmin or a Rajput.
In Uttar Pradesh, the process to select a new president has been delayed due to the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, although lack of consensus in over a dozen districts has also derailed the process in the state.
In Telangana and Gujarat, the BJP might have to take a call on revisiting its policy of “one person, one post”. In both the state, party chiefs G Kishan Reddy and CR Paatil are also Union ministers.
In Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, where assembly elections are due in 2026, the BJP is a bind over continuing with the incumbents or going to polls with a new face. In West Bengal, Sukanta Majumdar has been in the position for a little over three years; in Tamil Nadu, K Annamalai has been president since July 2021; and in Kerala, K Surendran has been the party chief for over five years.