The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) constitution lays down an elaborate process to elect its president. However, the party — which claims to be the largest political party in the world with more than 170 million members — has the practice of choosing its president by consensus, where election is not required. There is no contender to challenge the choice of the senior party leaders. However, the BJP in a national convention in February this year amended its constitution to deal with the question in “emergency” situations.

The process will take time…

The BJP president is generally elected through organisational elections. This process begins with a membership drive. This is followed by polls at the district, state and national levels. The election of the president happens after 50 per cent of the state units have carried out their polls.

People in the know of things say that following the induction of incumbent JP Nadda in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inaugurated his third term on June 9, the BJP is gearing up to launch a membership drive soon.

The BJP follows the policy of “one person one post”. Nadda, anyway, had completed his tenure as the BJP president in January, and in view of the Lok Sabha election, he was given an extension till June 30.

However, with the election process yet to begin, Nadda may not be vacating the seat soon. He may be asked to continue as a working president. Or, there could be another person officiating as the working president in a signal that he would be the next president of the party.

Nadda assumed the BJP president’s position through that route. Having served as the Union health minister in the first Modi government, Nadda was eased out from Modi 2.0 as then BJP president Amit Shah was inducted into the Union Council of Ministers. Nadda became the working president of the BJP in June 2019. He was finally elected as the BJP president in January 2020.

Now, with the election process likely to begin in days to come, the routine is expected to stretch till September the least. This means if the BJP decides to follow the election process, it may get the next president not before September-October.

… but there’s a way out

In January, the BJP amended its constitution at its national convention, giving its apex organisation body, the Parliamentary Board, to take a call on the issues related to the party president. Such decisions could be about the person to lead the party or the term of party president in “emergency” situations.

The BJP leadership did not give details about the aim of the amendment but some in the party indicated that it could be a factor in the future appointments of party presidents. They said while the party is busy preparing for state or national polls, it is difficult to follow the laid down practice for the internal elections.

Three key state elections are coming up for the BJP, which has just seen its vote and seat shares go down in the national election. Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand will go to the polls in September-October.

The BJP may not want to have its own presidential election around the same time. The “emergency” situation provision may be invoked, and the Parliamentary Board of the party may choose the next party president in accordance with the amended constitution. Just to recall, the amendment was moved by BJP general secretary Sunil Bansal, who is said to be one of the top contenders for the post.

So, who could be the next BJP president?

With certain remarks made by Nadda during the Lok Sabha election and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat too commenting on how a “sevak” (one who serves) should conduct oneself in public life, the word in the BJP corridors is that its next national president would be somebody who is a considered choice of both the party and the RSS.

Sunil Bansal

Some of the media reports from Rajasthan are already headlining Bansal to be the next BJP president. Bansal comes with a strong RSS background where he learnt the organisational skills — something that the BJP leadership has always preferred. He is considered as a BJP asset who delivered big results while maintaining a low profile.

He was the organisation secretary for Uttar Pradesh when the BJP made stupendous progress in recruiting more members and winning more seats in the 2014 and 2019 national elections, and 2017 and 2022 state polls. His recent yields for the BJP came from Telangana and Odisha, where the BJP has just formed its first government.

Bansal, 54, began his political career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student outfit of the RSS, in Rajasthan. He rose through the ranks to become its national joint organising secretary. It was now that he was spotted by Shah to work in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 election. He grew from strength to strength in the BJP.

Anurag Thakur

Not included in the Council of Ministers, the Hamirpur MP from Himachal Pradesh is one of the top contenders for the BJP president’s post. The son of former Himachal Pradesh CM Prem Kumar Dhumal who turned to politics after trying his hands in the Ranji Trophy cricket got the attention of Delhi leadership in 2010 when he was appointed the president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP.

Thakur, who will turn 50 in October, enjoys good relations with both PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Though Thakur does not owe his rise in politics to the RSS, he has been vocal about the RSS’s work. Last year, when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the RSS at a London event, Thakur retorted, “Rahul Gandhi should attend RSS camps. He will learn a lot…[PM Modi comes from the RSS], look at his dedication to work. He has not taken a day off since 2001.”

After he was not included in the Council of Ministers, Thakur said, “I am a party worker first…I worked as a party worker in the past and would continue to work as a party worker in the future. Our entire effort is to take India on the path of progress. All of us will walk together because India is important, the Modi government is important and the country’s progress is important.”

However, he also comes from the same state as the outgoing BJP president — Himachal Pradesh. This may work against him, a party source said, adding that “Thakur will anyway have a greater role to play. If he is not considered for the national president, he will be working to bring the BJP back to power in the state in 2027”.

Vinod Tawde

Tawde is a strong Maratha leader, who after losing the race to Maharashtra CM had said, “Only Rashtra [nation], no Maharashtra.” Close to the RSS and a confidante of Shah, Tawde is considered one of the contenders who have organisational knowhow to don the role of the BJP president.

One thing that goes against Tawde is the BJP’s much reduced performance in Bihar. He is the party’s general secretary in charge of Bihar. The BJP had won all 17 Lok Sabha seats it had contested in 2019. This time, its number got reduced to 12 while it contested the same number of seats.

Also, he was heading the BJP panel that the party had set up in January to induct defectors to its outfit as it eyed to win 400 Lok Sabha seats. Tawde went on a spree to induct defectors. The BJP gave almost 25% of the tickets to defectors. The strategy didn’t yield the desired results as the party fell short of a majority of its own the Lok Sabha. Still, 60-year-old Tawde stays in the race to become the next BJP president.

The names of two more candidates are doing rounds in the BJP circles — BL Santosh and Om Mathur. Santosh has served two tenures as the general secretary (organisation) — a position routinely filled by somebody the RSS ‘lends’ to the BJP. The unwritten rule is also that nobody serves more than two terms in the position. Santosh is unlikely to get the BJP president’s job, say people familiar with the party’s inner conversations.

Om Mathur, the 72-year-old veteran from Rajasthan, has a proven track record. He has contributed to the party’s growth in Uttar Pradesh and the rest of north India. However, his age and health are said to be going against him. The BJP leadership is said to be in favour of somebody who is younger.

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