This story is from January 17, 2020

BJP pins revival hope on Babulal entry, appointment of new office bearers

BJP pins revival hope on Babulal entry, appointment of new office bearers
Ranchi: State BJP functionaries await appointment of the party’s new national chief next week, so that organisational set-up in the state could also be completed. BJP sources have indicated that Union home minister Amit Shah will step down as the party’s national president and J P Nadda will take over.
Party insiders said soon after Nadda takes over, the impasse over the state party chief and the leader of BJP legislative party, who will also be the leader of opposition in the assembly, will be resolved.

State BJP spokesperson Pratul Sahdeo said, “The central committee of the party is a keeping a close watch on the developments in Jharkhand. The leader of opposition and the state president will be decided very shortly and a rejuvenated BJP will take on the government soon.”
The issue of selecting a tribal for the post of the leader of opposition or for the state president is, however, still looming large over the saffron brigade’s plans for its Jharkhand unit. According to the party insiders, the BJP’s central committee wants a tribal face either as a state party president or as the leader of opposition.
Talks in the political circle indicated that BJP is trying to lure JVM-P chief Babulal Marandi back into the saffron fold with the post of the leader of opposition. On Thursday, soon after his return from an overseas trip, Babulal refrained from making any definitive comment on whether he would return to the BJP fold.
A senior BJP functionary said, “The post of the leader of opposition has been kept vacant for a tribal face with a clean image like Babulal. Several meetings have taken place between our national leaders and Babulal. We are now waiting for further intimation from our central committee members on the matter. Once this is resolved, other organisational formalities for selection of the party’s top functionaries in the state will also be completed.”

However, many BJP veterans in the state are eyeing the post of party’s state president, even if the leader of opposition’s is offered to Babulal. Among front runners for the party president are Chatra MP Sunil Singh, former state BJP president Ravindra Rai, Rajmahal MLA Anant Ojha, senior party member Ganesh Mishra and state general secretary Deepak Prakash.
A senior BJP functionary said, “If the leader of opposition is not a tribal, then BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sameer Oraon will stand a good chance to become the next state BJP president. After suffering defeat in 26 of the 28 tribal seats in the state, the party’s central committee is of the view that the tribal face of the party needs to be bolstered in Jharkhand with an eye on future prospects.”
Once the state BJP president is appointed, he will be empowered to reconstitute all other party committees and appoint new office bearers in consultation with senior officials of the party. New district presidents and mandal committee presidents, too, will be appointed by the new head of the party.
The functionary added, “During the assembly election, more than 24 party officials and members were expelled owing to their anti-party activities. Following that, BJP has carried out a detailed probe into the rampant anti-party activities that led to the party’s defeat in the state assembly polls. We are now looking at a list of more than 120 members who had played a tacit role in anti-party activities. Since it is not feasible to expel all these members, they will be side-lined after the new office bearers take charge.”
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About the Author
Sourav Mukherjee

Sourav Mukherjee is assistant editor at The Times of India, Ahmedabad. He heads the crime reporters" team. Over the years he has reported on a range of issues related to crime, civic infrastructure, the earthquake of 2001 and the communal riots of 2002. His likes to spend his leisure time reading "whodunits" and non-fiction.

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