<p>BJP general secretary J.P. Nadda is among the front-runners to become the party president if Rajnath Singh joins the Narendra Modi government, a party leader said.<br /></p>.<p>A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leader said Nadda, Rajya Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh, is known for his close proximity to Amit Shah, another party general secretary and a close confidante of Modi, and former party president Nitin Gadkari.<br /><br />"Nadda is emerging as the best choice as he suits both the party top leadership and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)," a senior party leader told IANS Saturday in Shimla.<br /><br />Starting his political career as a student leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), allied to the BJP, in 1978, Nadda had also worked both with Gadkari and Shah even in the party's youth wing - the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha - from 1991-94.<br /><br />In the parliamentary election, Nadda played an important role in his home state Himachal to win all the four seats eventhough the Congress government was at the helm.<br /><br />"Nadda was given more responsibilities in the elections -- right from selecting the candidates to ensuring their victory. He toured extensively all areas in the state," said the leader, who did not wish to be identified.<br /><br />In the previous BJP government (2007-2012) in the state, Nadda was forced to resign as forest minister in 2010 owing to differences between him and then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.<br /><br />He was then picked by Gadkari in his new team. He was made party's national general secretary. Nadda is also party's in-charge in Chhattisgarh.<br /><br />Dhumal has said it would be a matter of pride for Himachal if Nadda was made BJP's national president.<br /><br />"It will be a huge honour for a state like Himachal if Nadda gets the top post in the BJP," he told reporters in his hometown Hamirpur.</p>
<p>BJP general secretary J.P. Nadda is among the front-runners to become the party president if Rajnath Singh joins the Narendra Modi government, a party leader said.<br /></p>.<p>A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leader said Nadda, Rajya Sabha MP from Himachal Pradesh, is known for his close proximity to Amit Shah, another party general secretary and a close confidante of Modi, and former party president Nitin Gadkari.<br /><br />"Nadda is emerging as the best choice as he suits both the party top leadership and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)," a senior party leader told IANS Saturday in Shimla.<br /><br />Starting his political career as a student leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), allied to the BJP, in 1978, Nadda had also worked both with Gadkari and Shah even in the party's youth wing - the Bharatiya Yuva Morcha - from 1991-94.<br /><br />In the parliamentary election, Nadda played an important role in his home state Himachal to win all the four seats eventhough the Congress government was at the helm.<br /><br />"Nadda was given more responsibilities in the elections -- right from selecting the candidates to ensuring their victory. He toured extensively all areas in the state," said the leader, who did not wish to be identified.<br /><br />In the previous BJP government (2007-2012) in the state, Nadda was forced to resign as forest minister in 2010 owing to differences between him and then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.<br /><br />He was then picked by Gadkari in his new team. He was made party's national general secretary. Nadda is also party's in-charge in Chhattisgarh.<br /><br />Dhumal has said it would be a matter of pride for Himachal if Nadda was made BJP's national president.<br /><br />"It will be a huge honour for a state like Himachal if Nadda gets the top post in the BJP," he told reporters in his hometown Hamirpur.</p>