The long wait for BJP national president

Fresh organisational appointments in the BJP these days are invariably followed by hectic talks around a possible quick election to the post of party’s national president.

This first happened in late June and early July when the BJP appointed new chiefs in 26 of its 37 state and UT units, thereby completing the internal constitutional requirement of overhauling half the organisation before an election to the post of national president can be scheduled.

The excitement around a national scale revamp was, however, short-lived because no poll schedules followed. The party sat on the issue and it was argued that the national chief will be elected only after counterparts in key states – Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Delhi and Haryana (where internal polls were pending) – are in place.

Now again this week, the BJP made two organisational appointments reviving the buzz around the long-pending matter of national presidential poll.

On Saturday, three-time MLA and state minister Jagdish Vishwakarma took charge as the new president of the Gujarat BJP replacing Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil. Vishwakarma was elected unopposed.

Likewise in Jharkhand, the party named Rajya Sabha MP Aditya Sahu as the new working president signalling his confirmation in the coming days.

These twin developments have renewed the buzz in saffron circles about a possible movement towards early election of the new BJP chief - a matter that had to be settled by January this year as per the party’s original plans and schedules.

While Jharkhand and Gujarat BJP have new chiefs, organisational elections in UP, politically the most crucial state, are still due. Same is the case with Karnataka, Haryana and Delhi.

Although an overwhelming majority of leaders in the party continue to believe that the new national president won’t be in until after Bihar elections, some see slow yet steady movement towards an early closure of the key organisational matter.

This minority views the Gujarat and Jharkhand BJP unit elections as significant in the light of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent public nudge to the party to act fast on the issue.

Answering a question about RSS control over appointments in the BJP, its political arm, Bhagwat had said at an event in New Delhi, “Had we been in control or involved, would it have taken so long?” He was referring to the delay in the election of the BJP president.

Besides a nudge, Bhagwat’s remarks were also seen as a sign to the BJP to read the restiveness of Sangh Parivar cadres on the ground.

Leaders across states where the BJP is in power have been privately talking about organisational inertia on account of national presidential election delay and resultant issues.

A senior BJP leader said the delay has had consequences in terms of demoralised workers, absence of redressal mechanisms and indifference towards key decision-making.

An outgoing organisation is bound to display detachment where decision-making may be deemed necessary, says another leader, stressing the urgency of a quick organisational revamp of the BJP.

Once the new organisation is in place, a Union Cabinet reshuffle is also expected, BJP leaders say, pointing to several segments of the party and the government “crying for attention.”

Further, there’s a growing sense within the Sangh Parivar of the need to grasp raging issues of the day much more actively than at present.

A dominant sense is that the BJP’s core issues — Ram Mandir and Abrogation of Article 370 — may well have run their course and new age issues could well be changing.

Many senior BJP leaders say the party needs to find newer and more novel ways of connecting with Gen Z, a segment Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is assiduously targeting through his “vote theft” campaign.

While they don’t see Gandhi making an impact on the ground, these leaders do acknowledge the altering nature of aspirational India and the issues that concern it.

For fresh thinking to take root, they feel, a fresh organisation is the primary requirement.

Everyone in the party is eagerly awaiting the schedule for the election of the next BJP president.