Nadda sworn in, BJP stares at major rejig in party ranks

While there were sustained speculations of either Shivraj Singh Chouhan or ML Khattar taking over as the BJP party president, both the former chief ministers took oath on Sunday, putting to rest such rumours.

New Delhi: With BJP president JP Nadda sworn in as a cabinet minister in the government, the BJP is set to have a new president. Nadda, whose term will be up in June, was the health minister in the past.

The Rajya Sabha MP will represent Himachal in the Cabinet, after the BJP top brass did not repeat former union minister Anurag Thakur in the Cabinet. Nadda’s term, which ended in January this year, was extended by six months so that the party does not go through an overhaul just with the general elections at the doorstep.

This also points at a pattern within the BJP – in 2014, then president Rajnath Singh took oath on swearing day, making the way for Amit Shah as the president of the party. In 2019, too, then president Amit Shah took oath during the government formation, paving the way for JP Nadda to take over. Nadda was first made the BJP’s working president.

While there were sustained speculations of either Shivraj Singh Chouhan or ML Khattar taking over as the party president, both the former chief ministers took oath on Sunday, putting to rest such rumours.

Organisational men Sunil Bansal and Vinod Tawde are the front-runners now for the top position, as at time when the party could down with an overhaul after the 2024 Lok Sabha results where the lost as many as 63 seats, necessitating the need for an alliance government to take over.

The development comes at a time when the RSS and BJP relations are strained; while the RSS has been upset over the inclusion of several Congress imports, Nadda’s assertion that the BJP is “saksham” (capable) without the RSS rubbed them the wrong way.

Sources in the RSS said that having a woman or Dalit president could prove to be beneficial for the party. Earlier this week, senior RSS leaders including Dattatreya Hosabale and BL santosh held deliberations with BJP top brass, including Nadda and Shah.

The NDA lost a significant chunk of the SC/ST seats – as many as 34 seats – while the INDIA coalition made massive gains (53), especially in Uttar Pradesh. The ‘samvidhan badal deynge’ (we will change the Constitution) slips by some BJP candidates triggered this migration of votes.