The BJP National Executive on Tuesday extended the term of party president JP Nadda till June 2024, giving him the responsibility to steer the party in nine State Assembly polls this year and Lok Sabha polls next year.
Nadda, who has been praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for working hard for the expansion of the BJP, has been constantly travelling across the country to strengthen the party organisations at the grass-roots levels.
With the approval of the National-Executive to extend his term, Nadda will have to work out a strategy to retain States like Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tripura where anti-incumbency could be a major challenge against the BJP Government.
The Opposition-ruled States like Rajasthan and Telangana would also pose a serious challenge to the BJP and test Nadda’s ability to fight against odds. In Rajasthan, the BJP is yet to settle the leadership issue and in Telangana it faces a well-entrenched BRS under Chief Minister KC Rao. The BJP will also face formidable challenges in Meghalaya and Nagaland.
Announcing the extension of Nadda’s term, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP will win the 2024 Lok Sabha polls with a bigger mandate than 2019 and hailed Nadda’s leadership for securing BJP’s victory in several Assembly elections.
Shah told media persons that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a former party president like him, moved the proposal of extending Nadda’s tenure till June next year and the executive unanimously endorsed it.
With Nadda set to lead the party during the Lok Sabha polls, he will follow the footsteps of his predecessor Shah, whose tenure was also extended so as to allow him to spearhead the organisation during the 2019 polls.
Shah expressed confidence that the BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nadda, will achieve a bigger win than the last general elections.
The Minister lauded Nadda’s leadership, saying, “The party won many State Assembly polls under Nadda” and connected the party organisation with the service of people during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Shah further said that throughout Nadda’s term, the BJP has worked on the principle of ‘Seva Hi Sangathan’ right from the booth till the national levels.
Noting that the party won many State Assembly polls under Nadda, Shah said the BJP won 73 assembly bypolls out of 120 held during his tenure.
It was under Nadda’s leadership that the BJP performed well in Bihar, and again formed the Government in Maharashtra and Haryana, he added.
The BJP won Assembly polls in Assam, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh during Nadda’s tenure as the party president, Shah said, adding that it also formed the Government on its own for the first time in Goa.
In December, last year, BJP scored a big Assembly win in Gujarat but lost Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh, the home State of Nadda.