BJP’s Leadership Limbo: 15 Months Without a New President
Who will be next BJP president? A representative image!
The RSS’s caution underscores broader anxieties: without a Shah-like dynamo to infuse vitality, the BJP’s electoral fortress may crumble against future headwinds.
By TRH Political Desk
New Delhi, September 28, 2025 – Spotlighting cracks in relations between India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mentor RSS, political commentator Manish Anand has lambasted the organization for morphing into a mere “electoral machine,” sidelining its ideological roots. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term marking nearly 15 months since June 2024, the party remains rudderless at the top, unable to appoint a new national president despite its own “one person, one post” constitutional mandate. Incumbent JP Nadda, hailing from Himachal Pradesh, clings to dual roles as Union Health Minister and BJP chief, a violation that’s persisted since his cabinet induction. “The BJP is so helpless it can’t even select a new president,” Anand remarked in his analysis, questioning the party’s organizational paralysis.
This contrasts sharply with Modi’s second term in 2019, when Amit Shah swiftly resigned as president upon becoming Home Minister and orchestrated Nadda’s election within six months. Speculation swirls that the delay stems from discord between BJP’s top brass—Modi and Shah—and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat reportedly withholds approval, wary of installing another “remote-controlled” figure who might prioritize electoral wins over grassroots revival.
Multiple rounds of meetings have yielded no consensus, with the RSS eyeing a robust leader to fortify the party for the next three decades amid rising opposition challenges. The timeline hinges on state polls. Bihar’s assembly elections, slated for three phases in November this year, could pave the way for a new government by month’s end in the state, potentially triggering BJP’s internal polls.
Analysts predict Nadda’s extended tenure could stretch with 18 more months, consigning the “one post” rule to the dustbin. Post-Bihar, eyes turn to West Bengal’s April 2026 polls, with five months’ buffer for organizational elections. This malaise extends to states. Uttar Pradesh, a BJP stronghold, lacks a new president.
In Gujarat—Modi’s home turf—CR Patil doubles as state chief and Union Minister, ignoring the rule amid AAP and Congress gains. Anand warns this “status quo comfort” risks complacency: the party rides Modi’s brand to victories, but a weakened leader or strong rival could unravel it. Prospects for the successor point to BJP’s traditional bastions in North and West India, likely an upper-caste figure for caste equilibrium—balancing President Droupadi Murmu (tribal), Vice President CP Radhakrishnan (OBC), and PM Modi (OBC).
South India hopes, once floated for regional balance, have faded with the Vice Presidency’s allocation. The RSS’s caution underscores broader anxieties: without a Shah-like dynamo to infuse vitality, the BJP’s electoral fortress may crumble against future headwinds. As Anand urged, “How long can it bank on Brand Modi?” With state units’ polls dragging—delayed in key areas like UP and Gujarat—the national election, per party rules, remains elusive.
Sources hint at a possible June 2026 resolution, but for now, the BJP’s leadership vacuum signals deeper disarray in India’s political behemoth.
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