“This kind of public expression means there is a problem in communication between the Sangh and the party. Bhagwati rarely criticizes BJP leaders publicly.”
Even as the Ministers in the new NDA government took charge Tuesday, the BJP has begun to set in motion the process of re-jigging its organization nationwide and, simultaneously, reviewing its Lok Sabha performance. This exercise is expected to begin with a fresh membership drive and will conclude with the election of a new party president. It is still not clear if this will take place under a new working president or incumbent J P Nadda who has been inducted in the Modi government as Union Health Minister.
“The one who maintains decorum does his work, but remains unattached. There is no arrogance that I did this. Only such a person has the right to be called a sevak,” Bhagwat had said.
Sources said these remarks, seen as a veiled criticism of the BJP leadership, are neither “routine nor normal.”
Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday expressed concern over peace eluding Manipur even after one year and said the situation in the strife-torn northeastern state must be considered with priority. Addressing a gathering of RSS trainees at the concluding programme of organization’s ‘Karyakarta Vikas Varg- Dwitiya’ at the Dr Hedgewar Smriti Bhavan premises in Reshimbagh here, he said conflict in various places and in society is not good. Bhagwat stressed on unity among all communities in the country, which he said was very diverse though people understand it is one and not separate.
He emphasized the need to get over with election rhetoric and focus on problems facing the nation. “Manipur is waiting for peace for the last one year. There was peace in Manipur 10 years ago. It felt like gun culture had finished there. But the state has suddenly seen violence,” he said.
Nadda took charge of the BJP as working president when Amit Shah, BJP’s president during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, moved to the government, and he was elected as the full-fledged president in January 2020.
The precedent opens up the possibility of appointing a working president, more so as a full-time leader may be needed to steer the upcoming membership drive and elections in its organizational units, be it districts or states.
With many of the party’s senior and experienced leaders being inducted in the current government, sources said, the field for candidates for party president has “narrowed.” Names doing the rounds include Maharashtra leaders Vinod Tawde, Devendra Fadnavis; senior BJP leaders Om Mathur, K Laxman, Sunil Bansal and Anurag Thakur.
