With the NDA government featuring JP Nadda in the Modi Cabinet, the BJP president's chair is up for the taking. On Monday, June 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed portfolios to the Cabinet ministers, wherein Nadda was handed the Health & Family Welfare and the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers portfolios. With Nadda being inducted into the Cabinet, BJP will need a new national president.
The speculations over the names gained steam after senior BJP leaders like CR Paatil, Manohar Lal Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Bhupender Yadav were included in the government.
Here are the names of probables for the BJP president's chair doing the rounds.
Vinod Tawde
Vinod Tawde hails from Maharashtra and is the party's national general secretary. He has been a state minister in the Devendra Fadnavis Cabinet. Vinod Tawde comes from the OBC community and is currently the general secretary in charge of Bihar. He's considered among the key figures who orchestrated the BJP's win on 12 seats in the state.
Vinod Tawde's elevation as the BJP president would help shed its purported anti-OBC image that the INDIA bloc had tried to sculpt in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP bore the brunt of INDIA bloc's "anti-OBC" attack in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Moreover, Maharashtra is scheduled to go to polls this year. Tawde's elevation can help the party consolidate its scattered OBC voter base. Another factor is Vinod Tawde's Maratha community background. With Manoj Jarange beginning fresh protests and the activist warning Congress of "repercussions" over "not siding with the Maratha community after winning elections on Maratha votes", BJP may look to capitalise on the situation. Vinod Tawde can also be Modi's trump card among the agrarian community as he was the first leader who demanded a separate budget for agriculture in the Maharashtra assembly.
Sunil Bansal
Another name doing the rounds is that of Sunil Bansal. Currently, Sunil Bansal is the BJP's national general secretary. He is considered close to Home Minister Amit Shah. Sunil Bansal has been a former pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Amit Shah was the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh by the BJPAt that time, Sunil Bansal was made the co-in-charge of UP and the BJP put up a brilliant performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. After this, he was appointed the in-charge of UP in the 2017 assembly elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In both the elections, the BJP put up stellar performances.
After giving immense success to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, the party entrusted him with the task of increasing the party's reach in Odisha and the southern state of Telangana. This time, the BJP was successful in forming the government in Odisha for the first time, while in the assembly elections held in Telangana last year, an increase was recorded in the vote share of the BJP.
Apart from this, during the Lok Sabha elections, Sunil Bansal has prepared many ground-level plans for the party keeping an eye on call centres across the country along with party workers.
BL Santosh
BL Santosh is currently the General Secretary (organisation) of the BJP. He has also been a big campaigner of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. BL Santosh can also be a choice as the National President of BJP, but it can be challenging for him to get the post. This is because a large section of the state BJP blames BL Santosh for the defeat the BJP had to face in the Karnataka Assembly elections of 2023. His differences with BS Yeddyurappa could also prove to be ahurdle for him.
Om Mathur
Another contender in the race for the BJP's national president is Om Prakash Mathur from Rajasthan. His political stature can be gauged from the fact that he is considered the left hand of PM Modi. The party had sent him as the state in-charge for the assembly elections held in Chhattisgarh. In that election, the BJP formed the government with a majority. In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Om Mathur, along with Sunil Bansal, wrote the script for the BJP's victory in the state. It is said that ever since Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he has been impressed by Om Mathur's work within the organisation.
K Laxman
Former BJP president of Telangana K Laxman is also in the race for the party's national president. Currently, he is the head of the BJP's OBC wing. His OBC status can help the BJP gain ground among the community in southern states. With the BJP striking a deal with Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh, its eyes are now set on Telangana. Only thing that could work against K Laxman is his lack of presence outside Telangana.
Anurag Thakur
Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur's name is doing the rounds as the BJP chief. Anurag Thakur, a five-time MP, has not been given a place in the Modi Cabinet this time. Having held the portfolio of Union sports minister, Anurag Thakur is a strong face among youth, a demographic that is a strong target for the BJP.
Anurag Thakur became the first Bharatiya Janata Party MP to be awarded the Sansad Ratna Award in January 2019. Anurag has also worked as the president of the Himachal Pradesh Rifle Association, General Secretary of Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association, Executive Member of Indian Olympic Association, General Secretary of Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association. Anurag Thakur has also been the Joint Secretary of BCCI. In May 2016, he was elected as the President of BCCI.
However, Anurag Thakur, the son of former Himachal Pradesh CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, is a dynast. The BJP has repeatedly hit out at the Congress and the Samajwadi Party for having dynasts at the helm of affairs. Delhi BJP spokesperson Ajay Sehrawat in an interaction before the elections told ABP Live: "All our presidents like Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, and others come from families with no political background. BJP is against one person taking over the entire party. Look at Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, the Gandhis... they have taken over entire parties."
It would be interesting if Anurag Thakur is elevated as the party president.
List Of BJP Presidents
The list of BJP presidents since its inception includes stalwarts like Atal Bihar Vajpayee, LK Advani, and Murli Manohar Joshi. Given below is the full list of BJP presidents till now.
| Name | Year |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 1980-86 |
| Lal Krishna Advani | 1986-91 |
| Murli Manohar Joshi | 1991-1993 |
| Lal Krishna Advani | 1993-98 |
| Kushabhau Thakre | 1998-2000 |
| Bangaru Laxman | 2000-01 |
| Jana Krishnamurthi | 2001-02 |
| Venkaiah Naidu | 2002-04 |
| Lal Krishna Advani | 2004-05 |
| Rajnath Singh | 2005-09 |
| Nitin Gadkari | 2009-13 |
| Rajnath Singh | 2013-14 |
| Amit Shah | 2014-20 |
| Jagat Prakash Nadda | 2020-Present |