BJP's
dilemma: Where to hold its National Executive
The BJP leadership is under considerable pressure from many
state units insisting that January National Executive be held in their state.
The Karnataka unit is insisting that it should be held there as the state is
going to polls in April-May and such a mega event will give a fillip to the
prospects of the party to retain power. It will also help the faction-ridden
Karnataka unit to sink differences before the polls.
However, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is
also pleading with the party high command to hold the event in the state as it
will also go to polls in November-December 2023. The Delhi unit also wants the
event to be held here as the party needs a booster dose to defeat the AAP in
elections.
However,
the BJP leadership has been maintaining a studied silence over the venue. The
dates are likely to be announced in the first week of January. The last
executive was held in Hyderabad in October 2022.
The
January National Executive is considered significant in the sense that it has
to re-elect J P Nadda for the next three year term or get a new president.
Nadda has completed three years in office and it is expected that he will be
given a second term as per the practice barring unforeseen reasons.
There
is widespread speculation that Nadda may be replaced by C R Paatil, a new
Chankaya of the BJP on the horizon after Gujarat's unprecedented win. The
uncertainty also emerged as BJP lost Himachal Assembly polls, a home state of J
P Nadda. But the BJP insiders say that Nadda will be given a second term as he
has performed extremely well during the past three years. A defeat in his home
state in the Assembly polls cannot be laid at his doorstep, say party sources.
