New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah and Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav engaged in a bit of witty banter in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, even as sparks flew between Government and Opposition members, as they debated on the Waqf Amendment Bill.
“The BJP claims that it is the biggest party in the world but they have not been able to elect their president till now,” Yadav said, drawing laughter from Opposition benches.
Not to be outdone, Shah rose to say: “Akhilesh said it jokingly, so I will reply in the same manner. All the parties in the Opposition elect their party president from among five members of the family. In the BJP, 12-13 crore workers elect their president through a process, so it takes time. Do not worry, you will remain the president of your party for the next 25 years,” he said, much to the amusement of all members.
J P Nadda has been holding the post of the BJP’s national president for nearly six years now, though the party’s constitution states that the maximum term for a president is three years. Nadda received extensions, the last being before the 2024 Parliamentary elections.
Senior leaders have confirmed that the party will elect its new president by the end of April. This will happen after elections are held to elect state presidents. Organisational elections have already been held in 13 states and presidents have been named. Elections will now be held in the remaining 19 states, after which the process to elect the national president will begin.
According to the BJP constitution, the national president can only be elected after organisational elections have been completed in at least half of the states.
Among the states where the names of new presidents are yet to be declared are Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. While Assembly elections are slated to be held in Tamil Nadu later this year, West Bengal goes to the polls in 2025.
