Who after Nadda?

New Delhi: BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda’s inclusion in the Modi Cabinet has raised questions about who shall succeed him as the saffron party’s president. A new chief will have to be selected soon as Nadda’s term ends at the end of this month. Nadda was made BJP’s working president following 2019 Lok Sabha elections and was later elevated as the full-time BJP president in January 2020 when Amit Shah joined the Narendra Modi Cabinet. The three-year term of Nadda was to end last year on January 20, but the BJP National Executive unanimously extended it till June 2024, avoiding any leadership changes in an election year.

Now that the Lok Sabha elections are over, the result is out and ministers have taken oath, all eyes are on the BJP president’s post.

The two names which were actively discussed in the BJP for the party president post for some time could now be ruled out, given that both of them have been inducted in the new Narendra Modi 3.0 Cabinet. The two leaders are Dharmendra Pradhan and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Meanwhile, other names are being actively discussed to be in the race for BJP’s top job, a post previously held by LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah, among others. The most talked about name is that of BJP’s general secretary Vinod Tawde, a former minister in the Maharashtra government. Tawde is young, understands the ‘sangathan’ (organisation), and is a Maratha.

Also, the name doing rounds for the post is the outgoing minister Anurag Thakur. The former Union minister was excluded from the Cabinet despite winning a fifth term. He also has organisation experience in his kitty from his time as former president of BJP’s youth wing.

K Laxman, another name doing the rounds, is BJP’s OBC Morcha chief. From Telangana, BJP’s next focus after Andhra, Laxman has also led the party as BJP state president. He has the right balance of being cool and being aggressive.

Another name believed to be in the race is Sunil Bansal. Presently, he is general secretary and in-charge of three states — West Bengal, Telangana and Odisha. However, it is his stint as General Secretary (Organisation) of Uttar Pradesh that made him a power centre in UP politics.