Anurag Thakur, Vinod Tawde and more: Who’s in the race to replace JP Nadda as BJP president?

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the oath of office for a record-making third term at Rashtrapati Bhavan. With him, another 72 ministers were also sworn in, who will make up Modi Sarkar 3.0.

Of
Modi’s picks
, one has a bigger implication. The inclusion of Jagat Prakash Nadda in the new Council of Ministers of the NDA government indicates that the BJP is all set for an overhaul. After all, JP Nadda has been the party’s chief since January 2020.

Now, with Nadda’s return to the Cabinet — he was part of Modi’s first government, helming the health ministry — a new BJP chief is expected to be elected soon, as the party follows the principle of “one man, one post”.

Who could be in the running for BJP president? We explore the many options before the ruling party.

Why is a BJP rejig likely?

On Sunday (9 June),
JP Nadda
, the current BJP president, was inducted into the Modi Cabinet. As the BJP follows the ‘one person, one post’ policy, now the party will have to look for a new chief.

Nadda, a veteran of the party, took over as the BJP president from Amit Shah, who joined the Modi Cabinet as the home minister. And in 2020, Nadda became a full-time president. In January this year, his term as president expired. However, he was given a six-month extension to oversee the Lok Sabha elections and his term ends in June.

Who’s in the running to be next BJP chief?

Immediately after Nadda was sworn in as minister in the new Modi administration, questions began over who will helm the party next. Interestingly, the earlier names doing the rounds for the party president’s post such as ML Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan have also been inducted into the Union Cabinet.

This leaves the BJP to look inwards into its organisation. Now, one of the names doing the rounds for BJP president is
outgoing minister Anurag Thakur
. The former Union minister was excluded from the Cabinet despite winning a fifth term from the Hamirpur seat in Himachal Pradesh. He also has organisation experience in his kitty from his time as former president of the BJP’s youth wing.

On his exclusion, he said on Sunday that he would continue to work hard as a party worker to fulfil the goal of Modi to make India a developed nation.

However, if the BJP does, in fact, choose Thakur, it would mean that two top positions have been accorded to the state of Himachal Pradesh. Nadda and Thakur both are from the northern hilly state. Moreover, giving Thakur the president’s post would mean that the BJP has its first political dynast as party chief.

Another name doing the rounds is that of Vinod Tawde. Hailing from Maharashtra, Tawde has been a minister at the state level. Currently, he is the general secretary in-charge of Bihar and handled several key responsibilities during the Lok Sabha campaign. With a background from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), he is known to be a soft-spoken and methodical leader.

Hailing from the Maratha community, poll pundits believe that making him the BJP chief would send a good message ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, scheduled for later this year. They note that it would be especially beneficial considering the party’s poor show in the state in the national elections.

Another probable for BJP chief is Sunil Bansal. The current BJP national general secretary, is a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) pracharak and is believed to be close to Amit Shah. Moreover, he enjoys the support of the RSS. An Economic Times report states that during the Lok Sabha campaign, Bansal handled all the call centres across the country, collecting feedback and encouraging and motivating workers on the ground.

Among the many choices that the BJP has, is BL Santhosh. Serving as the general secretary (organisation) of the party, Santhosh is aware of the BJP’s organisation and its functioning. There’s one drawback to him being selected as chief though. A section of the Karnataka BJP blames him for the party’s defeat in the 2023 Assembly elections.

Another contender in the running for BJP chief is Om Mathur from Rajasthan. It is, in fact, said that Mathur is considered as PM Modi’s left-hand man. A former RSS pracharak, Mathur has a proven track record when it comes to elections — be it in Maharashtra (2014), Uttar Pradesh (2017) and, Chhattisgarh in 2023. The Print reports that Modi is said to bank on Mathur’s organisational skills since his days as the Gujarat chief minister.

Who else could be in the running?

Besides these names, there are also some other contenders who could be picked as BJP president. Among them is Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. He recently announced that he would like to resign, taking responsibility for the BJP’s poor performance in the state. However, he has now rescinded his resignation.

A person close to the BJP told Hindustan Times that the RSS will be taken on board for picking the new president.