A successor to BJP state chief Sukanta Majumdar will not be appointed immediately as the party has to first find a replacement for J.P. Nadda as the national president.
Changes in the top posts of the BJP at the state and national levels have become inevitable following the induction of Nadda and Majumdar into Narendra Modi's council of ministers.
"The national president plays a crucial role in appointing state presidents. So, the new national president has to be appointed first. The entire process might take two months,” a senior BJP leader said on the condition of anonymity.
The BJP follows the "one man, one post" rule and accordingly, when Rajnath Singh became a Union minister in 2014, Amit Shah became the BJP president. After Shah became a Union minister, Nadda was appointed the party's working president in June 2019 and became the full-time president in January 2020.
Nadda's term as president expired in January this year, but he was given a six-month extension to oversee the Lok Sabha elections.
“There is a strong discipline in the party. The new president should have the opportunity to work with a team of his choice. There should always be better coordination between the national president and state presidents,” the senior BJP leader said.
In Bengal, there was speculation that Majumdar might be replaced following the debacle in the state in the Lok Sabha elections and after he was inducted into Modi’s council of ministers, the appointment of a new BJP chief has become inevitable.
“I will discharge whatever responsibility the party confers on me. Now a new person will come to lead the party in Bengal. We have a provision in the party constitution. The position of the party president will follow the same principle,” Majumdar told the media in Delhi after he was sworn in as a junior minister.
In accordance with the BJP's constitution, Majumdar will have to step down as the state president. Several names, including that of a woman leader who has been defeated in the Lok Sabha polls, are doing the rounds for the state BJP chief's post.
Majumdar was appointed as the BJP state president in September 2021, succeeding Dilip Ghosh, who had led the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections. In the 2019 polls, the BJP secured 18 seats, the highest number ever won by the saffron brigade in the state's Lok Sabha elections so far.
Sources within the party revealed that they were currently considering appointing an interim working president. Depending on the evolving situation, a full-time state president might be selected later.
State BJP leaders believe because of internal disputes, it would be challenging for the central leadership to identify a suitable candidate for the crucial position before the Assembly elections.
Former state president Dilip Ghosh had hinted that the present leadership was responsible for the party's poor performance in the state.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who has been vying for the top post in the state BJP, said: "Those who are now making grand statements and posting on Facebook seem to have forgotten that we garnered the support of 2.35 crore people. We have increased our vote share by nearly one per cent. Although we didn't meet our target, that doesn't diminish our achievement."
