Who is the next BJP chief? Khattar, Chouhan and Pradhan lead the race

With the BJP likely to elect its new president this month, Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Dharmendra Pradhan, ML Khattar, and Bhupender Yadav are being considered for the key post.

Though the entire exercise has been delayed by a couple of months, the ruling party is now all set to start the process of internal election in the coming days.

As the BJP leadership takes the call to elect the new president, senior party leaders believe that an OBC leader may get an opportunity to lead the party nationally. Interestingly, the BJP’s decision to focus on the OBC community comes after the 2024 Lok Sabha poll 'debacle' when the party failed to get a majority on its own, and it had to rely on the support of NDA partners for smooth functioning of the government.

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Betting on OBC face?

With the BJP facing a setback during the Lok Sabha polls in crucial states like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, there is a growing sense that an OBC leader as the BJP president could revive the fortunes of the party nationally.

Among the senior leaders of the party who are being considered for the top post are Union ministers Bhupender Yadav, ML Khattar and Dharmendra Pradhan. “In the last two decades, no OBC leader has led the BJP at the national level. There is a view that an OBC leader should lead the party and the choice could be between Pradhan, Yadav and Khattar,” a senior BJP leader told The Federal.

Another OBC leader in the race for the next BJP president is Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He is among the most successful BJP chief ministers, having headed the Madhya Pradesh government for nearly two decades.

“Shivraj Singh Chouhan is among the strongest candidates for the next BJP president but the problem is that he is holding talks with the farmers and can’t be taken out of the dialogue process midway. Union minister Pradhan is also a strong contender as he has worked closely with the RSS as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” a Delhi-based senior BJP leader told The Federal.

Poll process running late

“The process of electing a new national president can only be started after elections have been completed in more than 50 per cent of the states. The first criteria is to complete the polls in the states only then the election process for the new national president would begin,” RP Singh, national spokesperson of the BJP, told The Federal.

While the BJP leadership is trying to complete the elections in 50 per cent of the states, senior party leaders are hopeful that the announcement about the beginning of the process to elect a new president will be made after the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) meeting, which is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru from March 15 to 17.

The meeting of the ABPS is one of the most significant meetings of the RSS, which is expected to discuss the 100th anniversary celebrations of the organisation.

The states where organisational elections have already taken place include Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Goa and smaller states of the northeast.

The election of the new BJP president was supposed to be completed by January 2025, but the process was delayed because of the crucial Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and especially Delhi, where the entire RSS-BJP leadership was busy.

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Challenging road ahead

Political analysts believe the election is a big challenge for the BJP because the new president will have to lead the party in the upcoming Assembly polls in Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

“The new BJP president is elected when the party does not enjoy a majority in the Lok Sabha. The new incumbent will have to deal with the alliance partners and also prepare the BJP for Assembly polls in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal where the BJP is going to face big political challenges. In Bihar too, the BJP will have to tread cautiously because they need Nitish Kumar’s support in Delhi,” Amit Dholakia, political science professor at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, told The Federal.