The Jharkhand unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to get a new president by the end of January, and former president Ravindar Rai appears to be the frontrunner for the coveted position, party insiders said on Saturday.
“Some leaders have expressed their interest in taking the responsibility. However, former president and MP Ravindar Rai is leading the race so far,” said a senior office bearer of the BJP. “The party needs someone who can unite the party workers and keep them motivated,” said the office bearer who has been in the thick of events lately. Rai was the State president during the 2014 elections.
Former BJP State President Laxman Gilua stepped down from the position last month taking responsibility of the humiliating defeat of the party in the recently concluded Assembly polls. Gilua, who was the BJP State chief even during the General Elections last year, suffered two consecutive defeats — first in the General Elections and then in the Assembly polls — in the past one year.
Besides Rai, BJP State General Secretary Deepak Prakash and former Minister Amar Bauri are also in the race for the State chief’s chair, sources said. “The role of the party chief will be different in Jharkhand as the party will now sit in the opposition at least for the next five years. At this time, the party needs someone who can point out at the flaws of the ruling party and mobilise the party cadre,” said a BJP legislator who refused to be named.
The national unit of the BJP is likely to get a new president by January 16, and the decision related to the Jharkhand president will be taken once the new party chief takes charge in New Delhi. Sources said that BJP’s National Working President JP Nadda is likely to take charge as the party chief. “The state president will be named within a few days after the new national president takes charge in New Delhi,” said an office bearer of the Jharkhand unit of BJP.
The BJP has had its share of controversies and challenges related to the State president in Jharkhand since 2014. In 2016, the party appointed Tala Marandi — a tribal leader from Santhal Pargana — as the party president in Jharkhand. However, his stint as the party chief could not even last for a year as controversies related to his son and his remarks against the proposed amendments in the tenancy laws drew flak from various corners of the BJP. Gilua replaced him in an extravagant event organized at a private banquet in Ranchi in September 2016.