New Delhi: New Delhi: BJP President JP Nadda, who has been inducted into the Union Cabinet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, may continue to hold office until the party elects a new president by January next year.
Nadda's second three-year term came to an end in January 2024. In light of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he was given an extension till the elections were over., which comes to an end on June 30.
Sources in the party said that another extension is on the cards. “The process of internal elections is a long process, where each state unit has to go through extensive elections. This takes about two-three months. Nadda ji will see through that process,” a senior party leader and member of the party’s Parliamentary Board told DH.
There is also a strong likelihood that the party might choose to have some working presidents. During the tenure of union home minister Amit Shah as party president, Nadda was a working president.
As per Article XIX of the party’s Constitution, the president is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of the National Council as well as members of the State Council. Groups of 20 members of a state council can propose the name of any leader, with their consent, who has been a member of the party for 15 years. Any leader can hold the President’s post for two consecutive terms of three years each.
Nadda took over the party’s presidency in 2020 from union home minister Amit Shah, who had taken over the reins from union defence minister Rajnath Singh. Two days after his extension, Nadda was given a Rajya Sabha berth.
Nadda’s extension was to see the BJP through the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP had set itself a goal of 400 seats. However, the party fell short of the majority, winning only 240 seats this term, making it dependent on allies TDP and JDU to form the government.
Nadda being sworn in as the union health minister as part of the Modi Cabinet is indication that he is unlikely to be elected as President. Though several names such as that of Shivraj Chouhan and ML Khattar had been making the rounds, both have been inducted into the Cabinet, negating the speculation. As per RSS sources, the saffron body hopes for a Dalit or woman face in the position.
An extension is also likely to bring criticism to the BJP from some of its own supporters. When Nadda’s extension was announced in February, former BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanium Swamy wrote to the Election Commission against the “lack of internal elections” within the BJP, which he said was “violative of statutory and constitutional provisions” as per The Representation of the People Act, 1951. He also said that the party constitution does not recognise a term called “extension”.