The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday unveiled its new national office-bearers under party president Nitin Nabin, bringing together experienced leaders and a significant number of younger faces as the organisation prepares for the next electoral battles.
The new team retains BL Santosh as national general secretary (organisation), keeping the crucial organisational machinery under his leadership. The lineup also marks the return of several prominent leaders to important party positions, including former Union minister Smriti Irani, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and former BJP general secretary Ram Madhav.
Smriti Irani, Biplab Deb Among General Secretaries
The new list includes eight national general secretaries. Apart from Smriti Irani, the group features former Tripura chief minister Biplab Deb, Sunil Bansal, former Maharashtra Leader of Opposition Vinod Tawde, Satish Poonia, Gajendra Patel, Harish Dwivedi and Sanjay Bhatia.
Two leaders—former RSS functionaries Shiv Prakash and Saudan Singh—have been appointed joint general secretaries (organisation).
Ram Madhav, who had earlier moved from the RSS into active BJP politics before subsequently stepping away from an active political role, has now been appointed a national vice-president.
Vasundhara Raje Returns to BJP’s National Team
The vice-presidents’ list includes several prominent names. Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, former Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat, former Union minister Bharti Pawar, Odisha leader Baijayant Panda, former Congress leader Manpreet Singh Badal and minority leader Tariq Mansoor have been appointed to the post.
West Bengal leader Madhuchhanda Kar has also been named a national vice-president.
Among the 16 national secretaries are Sandeep Pathak, Anil Antony, Rohan Gupta and West Bengal leader Manoj Tigga.
New Team After Seven-Month Wait
Nitin Nabin became the BJP’s national president in January but took nearly seven months to finalise his team. The delay had fuelled speculation over the shape of the party’s organisational structure and the roles that senior leaders would receive.
According to BJP sources, the restructuring has been undertaken with the next Lok Sabha election in mind and is also linked to broader organisational changes within the RSS.
The new appointments also coincide with changes in several key organisational departments.
Amit Malviya, Tejasvi Surya Lose Key Posts
In a notable change, Amit Malviya has been removed from the BJP’s IT and social media responsibilities. Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya has also been replaced as president of the party’s youth wing.
Meanwhile, Union minister Piyush Goyal has been appointed the BJP’s new treasurer.
His appointment could have implications for his ministerial role, with the party’s “one person, one post” principle raising speculation that Goyal may eventually have to relinquish his position in the Union Cabinet.
