The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in the process of electing presidents of its state units, a process that will lead to the election of the party's new national president, replacing JP Nadda. As the internal polls started last year, the party has elected over 10 new state heads and held elections for 28 states and Union Territories.
JP Nadda, who is the Union Health Minister, has held the party president post since 2020. Even as his term ended in 2023, the BJP extended it till 2024 so he could steer the party through the Lok Sabha elections.
According to sources, the election of the BJP's national president will be conducted only after the successful completion of elections in key states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi and Haryana, among others.
While the suspense remains on who would become the national BJP president, various reports claimed that the party may get its first-ever woman president.
Take a look at all probable names:
Nirmala Sitharaman
BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman is being fielded as one of the frontrunners for the BJP national president's post, as she is one of the most influential women in the party. Notably, she has been holding the position of Finance Minister since 2019, after the BJP was elected for a second term. Moreover, her roots in Tamil Nadu can also be an advantage to the BJP, given the party's push down south. Amid these developments, Sitharaman recently met with JP Nadda and BJP general secretary BL Santhosh in the party headquarters.
Daggubati Purandeswari
Another frontrunner for the BJP national president role is D Purandeswari, who was the BJP's former Andhra Pradesh unit chief. She was also part of the government's Operation Sindoor delegation that represented the country's anti-terrorism stance in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the EU, Italy and Denmark.
Vanathi Srinivasan
The third name that is doing the rounds for the BJP's national president role is Vanathi Srinivasan, who had held the post of BJP Mahila Morcha National President. In 2021, she defeated actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan and won Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore (South) seat. She has been associated with the BJP since 1993 and became a member of the BJP's Central Election Committee in 2022.
Why does BJP look at a woman's face?
The BJP is looking for a woman face for the post of national president, as the party has seen success in influencing women voters in the recent past, which could be one of the reasons why it is now looking at making a woman hold the post of the party national president, sources said.
Apart from this, the BJP also pushed for the women's reservation bill in 2023, which cleared both houses of Parliament. The bill seeks 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. Appointing a woman president for the party could also send a clear message that the BJP was aligning with the bill.
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