Fresh faces likely in Team Nadda

New Delhi, July 12

BJP president JP Nadda’s new national team with “several fresh and young faces and talent” is expected to be announced soon, sources have indicated. Changes are also expected in the Parliamentary Board — the BJP’s highest decision-making body — where there are vacancies due to the passing away of senior leaders Ananth Kumar, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley and the election of veteran leader M Venkaiah Naidu to the post of the Vice-President of the country.

Nadda, who officially assumed the charge in January, has been operating with the old team. The sources say it is customary for the new president to have a new team. Though Nadda’s team is ready, the announcement has been delayed due to the Covid outbreak. “The team will be a mix of new and existing to ensure the continuity,” the sources added.

Given that Swaraj was the only woman member in the Parliamentary Board, speculation is rife over who will replace her in the prestigious body. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is believed to be the front-runner as the probable replacement, but that also means she will have to give up her position in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers.

So far, there is no word on who are on board at various levels of the organisational machinery. However, if Sitharaman is moved to the organisation, it would mean a reshuffle in the PM’s Cabinet. — TNS

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