The question of who will be the next BJP president and the timing of the election to that post is still hanging fire. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The question of who will be the next BJP president and the timing of the election to that post is still hanging fire, with both the BJP and the RSS getting into a huddle before the formal “samanvay” (coordination) meeting of Sangh Parivar affiliates to be held in Palakkad at the end of this month.
On Sunday evening, a marathon meeting lasting up to five hours was held at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence. RSS second-in-command Dattatreya Hosabele and its joint general secretary Arun Kumar were present at the meeting, along with Mr. Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister and BJP president J.P. Nadda.
According to top sources, the meeting took up the question of the next BJP president as well as the situation with regard to the safety of minority Hindus in Bangladesh.
“There are two schools of thought with regard to the next BJP president – one, that a working president, who will ultimately be the only candidate, be named early; another school is batting for the Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand polls to be over for any new working president to be announced,” said the source. There was no clarity on who prevailed during this meeting.
The RSS has been clear that the next BJP president is to be elected in active consultation with the RSS, unlike in the past, while the BJP is playing for time. “The results of the Lok Sabha polls have convinced the RSS that someone who will be strong enough to handle the organisation needs to be in place, while the BJP high command wants the seamless coordination between it and the president’s office as before,” added the source.
With regard to the safety of Bangladeshi Hindus, the government has put in place a committee to monitor the situation on the long India-Bangladesh border, with several States in the northeast quite firm that they do not want a deluge of refugees in their States. “The government of Bangladesh has to protect the minority Hindus in their country as they are Bangladeshi citizens,” said a source in the government.
For the RSS, the frequent meetings for “coordination” are its strongest signal yet that unlike in the past it wants an active role in the way the BJP is run.
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
