BJP will name candidate with an eye on 2024 general elections

New Delhi: Amid all the speculations and names doing the rounds for its Presidential nominee, the BJP may nominate a candidate either belonging to the Other Backward Class (OBC) or a woman to win their support in the run-up to the 2024 general elections.

The OBC and women are the largest constituents of the country's population.

A lot of theories like a candidate from Schedule Tribe (ST), Schedule Caste (SC) or from south India are playing in the political circles, and by all probability, the BJP-led NDA will nominate a candidate with an eye on the 2024 Parliamentary elections.

Amid the demand of caste-based Census, political parties know that OBC constitutes over 40 per cent of the country's total population, while women account for nearly half of India's population.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on several occasions said that women are the new votebank of the BJP.

BJP sources said that the party might nominate either an OBC or a woman for the post of President or go for a woman OBC candidate.

"Lots of names are doing the rounds and every name has its own weight, but it is important to consolidate OBC and women votes by nominating a Presidential candidate from among them," the sources said.

A party insider said that among all the social equations, a Presidential candidate from the SC community is unlikely as current President Ram Nath Kovind belongs to the community.

"It is most unlikely that a leader from the SC community will be given a chance this time. Among all, the OBC and women are most preferred right now for Presidential candidate," he said.

The OBCs are a major force in all the states, from Uttar Pradesh to Maharashtra. In the recent Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, despite the exit of some OBC leaders from the party, BJP received overwhelming support from the community.

A senior party functionary told IANS that almost all the parties, including BJP's alliance partner JD-U, have demanded caste-based Census to win the confidence of the OBC community, and by nominating a Presidential candidate from among them, the party will surely win their support in the next Lok Sabha polls and the upcoming state elections.

When asked who, the person quoted above said, "It could be anyone from the community from any part of the country."

"Both women and OBC are independently the largest chunk of voters in the country. The party will either woo them individually or together by nominating an OBC woman candidate for the post," a senior party functionary said.

Currently, the names of Anusuiya Uikey, Tamilisai Soundararajan and Arif Mohammad Khan, presently the Governor of Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Kerala, respectively, and Draupadi Murmu, the former Governor of Jharkhand, are doing the rounds for the Presidential nominee of the BJP.