BJP in no rush to appoint new party president

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems in no hurry to appoint a president to replace J P Nadda.

Nadda has been inducted into the Union Cabinet where he holds two portfolios — Health, and Chemicals and Fertilisers. He is also the leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha while continuing to function as party president, although his extended term came to an end in June. It is a heavy load by any account.

Some political observers have attributed the delay to differences between the BJP and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

A five-hour-long huddle at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s house on August 11, to discuss, among other issues, the choice of the next BJP president, was attended by the RSS second-in-command, Dattatreya Hosabale, and its joint general secretary, Arun Kumar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Nadda were also present.

Apparently, two proposals were discussed. One, that any working or interim president, should be named early, and he would be the only candidate standing for election of president later. The second, that the party should wait till the Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand polls are over before appointing an interim president.

Media reports of the meeting claimed that while those in government want to appoint someone with whom they could work seamlessly, like Nadda, the RSS wants someone with political experience and a mass base, capable of functional autonomy in party matters.

This confrontationist scenario ignores the established process of interaction between the BJP and the RSS in appointing the party president. The normal practice is for the BJP to suggest a candidate for the job and for the RSS to give its consent.

The RSS by itself does not suggest the name of the BJP president unless expressly asked to do so, as it happened in 2009.

When asked, the RSS came up with Nitin Gadkari’s name. Though miffed, L K Advani went along with the nomination. Gadkari’s appointment as party president was counterbalanced by appointing his protégé, Sushma Swaraj as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and creating a new post, Chairman of the BJP parliamentary party, for Advani.

Poised to get a second term as party president, Gadkari, however, had to resign from the race because of a controversy surrounding a company promoted by him, Purti Power and Sugar Ltd. This was described by the RSS as an ‘internal controversy’ — perhaps a polite word for conspiracy — against Gadkari. In an apparent victory for Advani, Rajnath Singh was chosen as the next party president.

The RSS extracted a price by getting Singh to support Narendra Modi’s candidature for prime ministership, putting paid to any hope that Advani, already under a cloud for his remarks praising Muhammad Ali Jinnah, may have had for the top job.

Given this history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not be at ease with the RSS nominating the next BJP president. More so, as the RSS has carried on a relentless campaign against him after he failed to lead the BJP to a clear parliamentary majority in the 2024 general elections. It has indicated discomfort with the concentration of power in the party and government. Yet, post-election, Modi’s hold on power has not gone down significantly.

There is no way that anyone inimical to Modi’s interests or capable of functional autonomy will succeed in becoming the next party president. Nadda was appointed as working president, within weeks of Modi taking over in his second term. Modi had already identified him to replace Shah who became Home Minister. It seems that Modi has simply selected anyone so far.

Nadda could then continue till the election of a new party president. Most of the crucial party work is, in any case, being done by Shah, such as holding meetings in election-going states.

Shah held the BJP core group meeting on Maharashtra elections and addressed BJP workers in the state. In Haryana, he chaired the party workers meeting in Panchkula and then went again to the state to address the ‘Backward Classes Samman Sammelan’ projecting the BJP’s OBC-friendly image. He is the one, not Nadda, who went to Jharkhand to address party workers, and promised to restore land and job quota for tribals. Clearly, the election organisation in these states is being shaped and created by Shah.

There is no pressure on either Modi or Shah to appoint a new party president whether interim or an elected one. Nor is it in anyone’s interest in the BJP to clamour for a new party president. The risks of inviting the wrath of the leadership are high.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s anger at being called a ‘mukhauta’ (mask) by K N Govindacharya was enough to banish him into political wilderness forever. Senior RSS functionary Sanjay Joshi is an example of how being on the wrong side of Modi can destroy a political career. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is only beginning to sense the perils of being seen as a challenger to the central leadership of the party. The fact is that Modi still holds the political fortunes of several hundred BJP leaders at both national and state levels in his hands.

With no pressure from within, the party can pass the buck for now by claiming that procedure must be followed. First, the membership drive must be completed, the membership list verified, followed by the election of local unit (mandal) presidents and district presidents, and then the election of state presidents would start from December 1. Only after 50% of the state party presidents have been elected, will the process of electing the national president of the party begin.

If this long-drawn procedure satisfies party members, why should the BJP leadership rush the issue? It gives it time to find a suitable candidate while Shah continues with the nitty-gritty of election organisation in the poll-bound states.

If it hones in on a candidate, and there are a host of names floating around, from Vinod Tawde, Sunil Bansal, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Manohar Lal Khattar, and Devendra Fadnavis, they can be appointed as interim president. The name of the next incumbent is unlikely to come from the RSS. It will, however, have a final veto on the candidate.

(Bharat Bhushan is a Delhi-based journalist.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.