BJP may name JP Nadda working president

NEW DELHI: With BJP chief Amit Shah joining the Modi government, former health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda is likely to switch to the organisation, perhaps as its working president, with Shah continuing as party chief.
Nadda’s shift to the party looked certain after he did not figure among the ministers sworn in on Thursday amid speculation that the Sangh Parivar was working out an arrangement where Shah may continue to lead the party with Nadda as working president, perhaps the first in the party’s history.
The organisational innovation, sources explained, was meant to meet the cadre’s concern that the sudden departure of Shah, easily the most successful BJP chief, might complicate matters when it needs to consolidate its hard-fought gains, especially in the newly-acquired territories, and prepare the party for the battles ahead. Nadda’s presence, sources said, will be a help as he, with his rich experience of the organisation, can take care of matters needing urgent concern, thus freeing up time for Shah to focus on his maiden ministerial responsibility at the Centre.
Though this will not be in accord with the one man-one post norm, party sources said the convention could be breached in the interests of the organisation.
Nadda belongs to a family of RSS workers and was active in ABVP and served as chief of the party’s youth wing, Bhartiya Yuva Janata Morcha, during the early 1990s. He joined the party as one of its general secretaries after a ministerial stint in Himachal Pradesh, his home state. In fact, he was considered one of the probables to succeed Rajnath Singh as party president after the latter took over as Union home minister. In the event, it was Shah, then basking in the glow of BJP’s successful 2014 campaign which ended with absolute majority for Modi, who took the top post.
Interestingly, Nadda enjoys the goodwill of Modi who looked after the organisation in Himachal Pradesh.
TOI had first reported on May 24 that Shah could join the cabinet and hinted that Nadda could take over as party chief.
Shah’s tenure was a golden phase for the party, winning the highest number of Lok Sabha seats and forming back-to-back governments. Known for working late into the night and waking up early, Shah also had an effective back room team.
One of Shah’s advantages was his ‘caste neutral’ status, which mattered hugely in the heartland states. Nadda will come from a similar background.
Having worked in the party organisation and having been in charge of the BJP headquarters for a long time, Nadda has been a silent performer. He was assigned the chief poll in-charge in Uttar Pradesh in the recent Lok Sabha polls. Besides, the success of ‘Ayushman Bharat’ was also attributed to him as health minister. The scheme, providing Rs 5 lakh medical cover to BPL families, is seen as one of the game changers for BJP.