JP Nadda, a Rajya Sabha MP, is likely to resign from the post of the BJP president after being inducted into the Narendra Modi cabinet. Nadda had earlier served as a minister in the Modi cabinet between 2014-2019. However, he took over the helm of the party after Amit Shah relinquished the post. Now, with Nadda set to quit as per the party policy of holding one post at a time, the buzz over the new BJP president has picked up. There are multiple names doing rounds for the top post.
Earlier, it was speculated that either Amit Shah may return to the post or Dharmendra Pradhan or Shivraj Singh Chouhan may get the responsibilty as the BJP now gets to up its organisation strength in the northern states where it faced a setback in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. As per reports, many people believe that Nadda did not perform at par with expectations as the BJP president. The saffron party's failure in states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana are being seen as the failure of Nadda to sense the ground sentiments and field suitable candidates.
As per reports, the names that are still doing rounds include BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde. He is a former minister in the Maharashtra government and is known for his skills after BL Santosh. Tawde is among the front runners given that Maharashtra is a crucial state and is going to the polls later this year.
K Laxman, the BJP's OBC Morcha chief from Telangana, is being considered for a prominent role. Telangana is BJP's next focus after Andhra Pradesh, and Laxman, who has served as the BJP state president, is known for his balanced approach of being both cool and aggressive.
Another contender is Sunil Bansal, currently the general secretary in charge of West Bengal, Telangana, and Odisha. Om Mathur, a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan and a protégé of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, is also in the running for the position of BJP national president. Known for his directness and amiable demeanour, Mathur has been an RSS pracharak and was previously in charge of Gujarat.
Smriti Irani, who has been dropped from the Modi cabinet after facing defeat in Amethi, is also said to be in the race as the first woman president of the BJP. Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur's name is also doing rounds for the post.
