A year after he moved from Gujarat to national politics, Amit Shah, 50, on Wednesday took over as the BJP’s youngest national president, capping a career dotted with a string of achievements and controversies.
The man largely credited with delivering 71 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to the BJP in the lok Sabha polls, will now be expected to wrest for the BJP Opposition-controlled States like Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, and Jharkhand where Assembly elections are due later this year and early next year.
Shah succeeds Rajnath Singh, who announced his elevation as party president after a brief meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi, lK Advani, Ananth Kumar, Nitin Gadkari, Venkaiah Naidu and Ram lal were present at the photo op function.
Shah’s first task will be to carry out organisational changes, keeping in view Assembly elections in States like Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, and Jharkhand. His team could include several new faces since three BJP national general secretaries and an equal number of vice-presidents besides two spokesmen are now part of the Modi Government.
Shah is also expected to take a call on the possibility of Government formation in Delhi with the help of the Congress and AAP rebels.Shah’s appointment will be ratified by the BJP national council, which is expected to meet after the Budget Session of Parliament. But Shah may not wait that long to pick up his team. He could go for organisational restructuring later this month to prepare the party for the upcoming Assembly polls.
“From now, Amit Shah will be the president of the BJP and lead the party. His appointment was approved unanimously,” Rajnath Singh said flanked by Modi and other leaders.Shortly after the announcement, Modi and Singh offered sweets to Shah, who accepted blessing and bouquets from senior leaders like Advani, Joshi, Swaraj, Jaitley and Venkaiah.
Prime Minister Modi said Shah’s elevation as party president will help the BJP expand its influence. “Amit started his (political) journey as an ordinary party worker and has repeatedly proven himself through tireless hard work and determination,” Modi tweeted.In his brief speech, Rajnath Singh said he took over as the BJP president with a heavy heart. “I felt helpless because of baseless allegations levelled against Nitin Gadkari. Since the Prime Minister has given me the responsibility of the Home Ministry, I though it proper to relinquish the post of the party president.
“I convened the meeting of the Central Parliamentary Board and tendered my resignation (as party chief)...The Parliamentary Board unanimously decided to appoint Amit Shah as president of the BJP. “Shah is full of imaginative ideas and has good organisational skills. As in-charge of UP during the lok Sabha polls, he was a roaring success. BJP had never been so successful in its history in UP,” Singh said.
He also credited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani for making Indian polity bipolar from unipolar.
Sources within the BJP indicated that Shah will bring about organisational changes with the aim to consolidate and expand the party’s base by giving specific charges to his team members. A grassroot worker, who graduated from the RSS, Shah is expected to give preference to leaders who have devoted considerable amount of time in organisational work. Some key leaders who have not been accommodated in Modi’s Ministry may also find place in his team.
In addition, two key RSS leaders, Ram Madhav and Shiv Prakash, who recently joined the BJP may also find place in his team. Sources said in the revamped party Madhav could be a general secretary.
Sources said that both the RSS and BJP leadership shared the view that there was a need to strengthen the party at every level with special emphasis on States where the BJP has marginal presence. Because of his close proximity to Modi, Shah could be a bridge between the party and the Government and pick up his team without any pulls and pressures from different quarters.
In his recent interaction with party MPs, Modi laid special emphasis on strengthening the organisation and ensuring good co-ordination between the party and the Government so the two complement each other.