The Bhartiya Janata Party, the largest political party in the world, has over 18 crore members and proposes to add another nine crore during the current membership drive. With the party President already on extension, the BJP is searching for his successor. His three-year term ended in January. When J P Nadda was appointed as a cabinet minister in the Modi 3.0 cabinet and leader of the Rajya Sabha in June, it was clear that there would be a new party president. The election will follow the completion of organisational polls at block, district, and state levels. It will end in December, and the process will help the active participation of its members and the public.

Nadda initiated the process for the organisational elections on Tuesday (October 15), leading up to the election of a new party president. Rajya Sabha M.P Laxman will oversee the organisational election. Vicepresident Rekha Verma and MPs Sambit Patra and Naresh Bansal will assist him. The BJP aims to add over nine crore new members to the party’s base. The transition from the current to the new President is crucial to maintaining momentum and facing upcoming challenges.

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Nadda presided over the party and oversaw the Assembly and Lok Sabha 2024 polls. BJP won some and lost some. In the Lok Sabha, the BJP fell short of a majority, and the party had taken the help of J.D.(U) and TDP to form the current coalition government. The gentle-mannered Nadda kept a low profile and never came in the way of the Modi-Shah duo in party-related decisions. Clearly, the BJP is looking for another Nadda. The election process is lengthy. According to the BJP constitution, at least 20 state executive members must propose the name. The person should have served on the council for at least four terms and been a party member for at least fifteen years.

The proposal must be seconded by members from at least four other states, ensuring a broad consensus within the party. After the finalisation of candidates, voting is held where members of the national as well as state executive are eligible to vote. Significantly, the BJP President has been chosen by consensus in the past, not by contest. On each occasion, only one candidate filed the nomination and was elected unopposed. Over a dozen names have been doing the rounds in the past few days. They include Cabinet ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupendra Yadav, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Rajnath Singh, and Maharashtra leader Devendra Fadnavis. There are many more names, and each has plus and minus points. The Modi-Shah duo would prefer a person with whom they can work; the RSS emphasises a person with political experience capable of functioning independently. Since 1980, when the BJP emerged as the political wing of the RSS, the relationship has been comfortable except for some irritations once in a while. The RSS ‘lent’ pracharaks to the BJP.

The RSS also deputed a senior pracharak to the BJP as a general secretary who acted as a coordinator. It is through this route that Modi reached the top in 2014. The new President will face many challenges, including keeping the party united and many state Assembly elections. Many rebels from other parties have joined the BJP, and they come with aspirations. The rebels need to be handled well. Addressing complacency and keeping the party ready for elections is another important task. But now, there are rumoured to be some differences between the parent organisation and its political wing. The BJP failed to secure a simple majority in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls partly because the RSS did not help much during the election campaign. This was clear from some recent remarks by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. He said in Pune last month” “We should not consider ourselves as God. Let people decide if there is God in you.”

Party insiders interpret these remarks as meaning that the RSS would like someone not in awe of Modi to succeed Nadda. The RSS also does not like the cult personally built around the Prime Minister. The RSS always had a crucial role in choosing the BJP president and the leading players in the national executive. Last month, the two sides met at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence. Amit Shah and B.L. Santhosh represented the BJP while the RSS was represented by secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and Arun Kumar. During the fivehour meeting, they discussed several names. Tradition, so far, is that the RSS does not suggest specific names for the President.

The names come from the BJP, and the RSS endorses them. The question is whether a consensus would be achieved and a contest avoided. The two sides at the end might follow the ‘give and take’ approach and zero in on a single name. Between now and December, there is enough time to find a suitable candidate acceptable to the RSS and the BJP. At the same time, the emergence of a dark horse is not ruled out.