BJP to name new party chief on January 20; sources say Nitin Nabin likely to be elected unopposed

New Delhi: The BJP on Friday released the schedule to elect its national president, saying the nominations for the post will be filed on January 19 and the name of the new chief will be announced the next day.

According to party sources, BJP national working president Nitin Nabin is likely to be elected as the national president unopposed, as there is least possibility of any other leader joining the fray.

The organisational poll schedule released by BJP national returning officer K Laxman showed that the nomination for the election of the party chief can be filed between 2 pm and 4 pm on January 19, and the nominations can be withdrawn between 5 pm and 6 pm on the same day.

Scrutiny of the nomination papers will be carried out between 4 pm and 5 pm on January 19. "Polling will be held if needed on January 20, and an official announcement of the name of the new BJP national president will be made the same day," Laxman said.

Nabin is likely to replace JP Nadda as BJP national president with party leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, backing his candidature for the post, sources said.

Incidentally, Nadda was also first appointed as the BJP's national working president in June 2019 and eventually was elected unopposed to the post of party national president on January 20, 2020, succeeding Amit Shah.

Nabin, 45, the son of late BJP veteran and former MLA Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha, is seen within the party as a dynamic leader who is ideologically rooted and deeply committed to the organisation. He comes from the RSS background.

Nabin represents Bankipur assembly constituency in Bihar and has served as a minister in the Bihar government twice.