Fresh membership drive, internal poll: BJP to start nationwide organisational rejig soon

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to begin the process of wide organisational changes with the launch of a fresh membership drive followed by an internal poll across states leading up to the election of a new party president, news agency PTI reported on Tuesday. The extended tenure of incumbent president JP Nadda ends on June 30. Nadda has now been made the Union Health Minister, a portfolio he held from 2014 to 2019.  

The BJP's Parliamentary Board may extend Nadda's tenure till the election process for his replacement is complete, sources told PTI. They, however, added that it is for the party's top brass to take the final call. When Amit Shah, BJP's president during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, moved to the government, Nadda was appointed its working president before being elected full-fledged president in January 2020. 

The precedent opens up the possibility of appointing a working president, more so as a full-time leader may be needed to shepherd the upcoming membership drive and elections in its organisational units, be it districts or states. 

The likes of Dharmendra Pradhan or Bhupender Yadav, who are solid organisation hands and were often spoken about as potential party presidents, have been retained in the Modi government in its third term. This suggests that the party may elevate someone among its state faces or one of its national general secretaries to the top post. 

The shift of some BJP state presidents to governments, either at the Centre or state, besides its electoral setback in a key state like Uttar Pradesh is likely to bring new faces in their place, sources said. The BJP's president in West Bengal, Sukanta Majumdar, has become a Union minister while his Bihar counterpart Samrat Choudhary is a deputy chief minister in the state. 

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also heads the party in the state. Rajasthan BJP president C P Joshi is likely to be replaced to balance the party's social coalition as the state chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma is a Brahmin like him. The party's dismal show in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh has turned attention to its state president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary. 

BJP sources noted that organisational polls and changes were put on hold as the party focussed on the poll campaign. The process will now begin in right earnest, more so after its below-par showing in some states during the polls. The BJP lost its majority in the Lok Sabha even though its alliance, NDA, comfortably crossed the magic figure of 272.

The BJP suffered a massive setback in UP, where its tally came down from 62 in 2019 to 33 in 2024. 

(With inputs from PTI)