Bihar’s road construction minister Nitin Nabin on Monday took charge as the BJP’s National Working President. He was greeted by BJP functionaries and senior leaders at the party headquarters on Monday, a day after he was picked for the top organisational role. But why has Nabin been named the working president, which seems to be an interim measure?
An election for the full-time BJP national president has been due for almost two years now. JP Nadda is the current BJP national president, and his term was extended to June 2024, given the Lok Sabha election in the country. The BJP didn’t want to experiment ahead of a crucial test.
Also, Nadda, who is now a Cabinet minister, is on dual posts, something that’s not been a convention in the BJP in recent years, which goes with the one person, one post mantra.
But why was Nitin Nabin picked as the working president?
The BJP national president is elected, and not nominated. The party is likely to hold elections around January 14 to elect Nadda’s successor.
Nitin Nabin, now the frontrunner, will become the national president if he wins the party election in January.
Reports suggest that the BJP had planned a meeting on the national president after the Lok Sabha elections, and its top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, state presidents, state in-charges, and national office-bearers, had gathered in New Delhi back in August. However, the polls did not take place back then.
Nitin Nabin won’t be the first to graduate from working president to the national president of the BJP.
JP Nadda was also appointed the national working president of the BJP in June 2019. Over six months later, on January 20, 2020, he was elected unanimously as the BJP National President, a role he took from Amit Shah. Since then, Nadda has held the post of the party’s national president.
Reports also suggest that the BJP isn’t holding an election for its national president’s post and only announced a working president because it is the Kharmas month.
Kharmas will begin on Tuesday, which is considered a sacred yet cautious period in Hinduism. According to astrology, during this time, most auspicious ceremonies are put on hold. This year, Kharmas will continue until January 14 (Makar Sankranti).
