BJP Appoints K Laxman As RO For Organisational Polls. Know When & How Party's Next President Will be Elected

BJP leaders Sambit Patra, Naresh Bansal, and Rekha Verma were appointed as co-returning officers of the newly constituted committee ahead of the organisational elections.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday appointed National President of BJP OBC Morcha Dr. K. Laxman as the National Returning Officer to conduct the nationwide organisational elections, which will culminate with the election of the next president of the saffron party, who will soon be replacing JP Nadda.

BJP leaders Sambit Patra, Naresh Bansal, and Rekha Verma were appointed as National Co-Returning Officers. The appointments were approved by BJP national president JP Nadda as per the decision of the party's national executive committee. According to BJP sources, the elections for state unit presidents will begin on December 1. 

The committee will begin by conducting elections at the state level, starting with the mandal (block), district, and then state presidents. The dates for the election of presidents at the booth, mandal, district, and state levels will be announced in this order. Subsequently, the district president and state council elections will be organised. Once they are elected, state presidents and members of the national council will be chosen. State council members choose state presidents, while national council members elect the national president.

Laxman is BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh, while Verma is the party's vice president. Bansal is the Rajya Sabha MP from Uttarakhand and Sambit Patra is the Lok Sabha MP from Puri.

A report by news agency PTI said, the process to elect the new BJP national president will likely begin in December or early next year after the organisational elections in at least half of the states end following the conclusion of the party's nationwide membership drive. The drive was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 2. 

JP Nadda has been the party chief since January 2020 and his three-year stint was extended earlier this year in June until the party elects his replacement. The party's president has a three-year term and is chosen by consensus.

List of the BJP chiefs so far:

JP Nadda: 2020 to present
Amit Shah: 2014-2017 and 2017-2020
Rajnath Singh: 2005-2009 and 2013-2014
Nitin Gadkari: 2010-2013
M. Venkaiah Naidu: 2002-2004
K. Jana Krishnamurthi: 2001-2002
Bangaru Laxman: 2000-2001
Kushabhau Thakre: 1998-2000
Murli Manohar Joshi: 1991-1993
Lal Krishna Advani: 1986-2005
Atal Bihari Vajpayee: 1980-1986