New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s longtime close aide Amit Shah, who is known for his organisational talent, was nominated on Wednesday as the new BJP president.
The nomination of Mr Shah, whose political skills and electoral strategy won the party 71 seats in politically-crucial Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, is likely to lead to better coordination between the Narendra Modi government and the party.
Political pundits feel with Mr Shah as BJP president, the government and the party organisation are both firmly in Mr Modi’s grip. Mr Shah’s choice was announced after the top leadership of the RSS signalled their approval.
While the BJP claimed Mr Shah’s elevation will further strengthen the saffron surge, the Opposition asked if there was “limited talent” in the saffron outfit that it had named an accused to its top post. Mr Shah is named in some fake encounter cases in Gujarat and his name also figures in the “Snoopgate” controversy. His critics accuse him of being a “polarising figure”.
Mr Shah’s name was announced after the BJP’s highest desicion-making body, its parliamentary board, unanimously decided to nominate him.
Incumbent BJP chief Rajnath Singh, who is now home minister in the Modi government, resigned after 18 months at the helm. The meeting was attended, among others, by Mr Modi, senior leaders L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj. The board also expressed appreciation of Mr Singh’s leadership and termed his tenure the "highest point in the history of the BJP and an epoch-making time in Indian politics".
Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who had to table the pre-Budget Economic Survey in the Lok Sabha, joined the press conference where the announcement of Mr Shah as BJP chief was made by Mr Singh. "From now on, Amit Shah will be the president of the BJP and will lead the party. His appointment was approved unanimously," Mr Singh said, flanked by Mr Modi and other leaders.
Mr Modi and Mr Singh then offered sweets to Mr Shah, while other leaders including Mr Advani, Dr Joshi, Ms Swaraj and Mr Jaitley gave him bouquets. Mr Singh also garlanded Mr Shah.
Asked about Mr Modi and Mr Shah, both of whom hail from Gujarat, being put in charge of the government and the party, Mr Singh said in a big party like the BJP major decisions like this can’t be viewed from the prism of region, religion and caste.
For Mr Shah, who is expected to appoint his new team soon, the key challenges include the looming Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.
"I have full confidence that Amit Shah, through his organisational and managerial skills, will be successful in making the BJP, which has emerged as the largest political party in the country, reach bigger heights. I believe that Shah will be more successful than me," Mr Singh said. He also credited Mr Shah for his "imaginative ideas" and "organisational skills".
Mr Shah later met party leaders and workers at the BJP headquarters, where hordes of party workers garlanded him and offered bouquets. They also burst crackers and distributed sweets,celebrating Mr Shah’s elevation.
