BJP, RSS Propose Woman as Chief
Names of Purandeswari, Vanathi Srinivasan, and Nirmala Sitharaman emerge as top contenders amid push for greater southern outreach and gender inclusivity.
New Delhi: The hunt for a successor to BJP president J.P. Nadda has taken a new turn with RSS and BJP now weighing the “historic” prospect of appointing a woman to the top party post. While a section of leaders pushed for a woman candidate, many others were firmly rooted to tradition, insisting that the post of party chief stay in “male hands”.
Amidst this deadlock and tug-of-war between BJP and RSS leaders over the next presidential candidate, the names of some women candidates have begun to surface.
The top contenders are mainly from the southern parts of the country — D. Purandeswari (Andhra Pradesh), Vanathi Srinivasan and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman (Tamil Nadu). A section has also been rooting for Smriti Irani, but the RSS countered her candidature with that of former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje.
The BJP leadership is, however, “not too comfortable” with the prospect of Raje as party chief, a senior party leader claimed.
While Purandeswari is a former BJP Andhra Pradesh state unit chief, Srinivasan is a party legislator from Tamil Nadu. While the BJP has firmly entrenched itself in the Hindi heartland and across much of North India, its influence in the southern states remains limited — Karnataka being the lone exception where the party has managed to secure a strong foothold.
Despite repeated efforts, the BJP continues to face resistance in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The camp pushing for a woman candidate believes that this move could strategically boost the BJP’s outreach and electoral footprint in the region. While this particular section claimed that the RSS was “open” to the idea of a woman BJP president, talks are still on to stick to the tradition of a man leading the party.
Beyond the logjam over the next national president, the BJP is also grappling with a leadership impasse in Uttar Pradesh. Sources revealed that the party remains sharply divided over the choice of the new state chief, with no consensus emerging even between the BJP and RSS. Sources revealed that a factional fight has been simmering between the state and central leadership over the selection of the party chief in UP.
Reports emanating from the state also indicate confusion over the timing to select a new state unit chief. While a section in the party favour selection of the next UP BJP president after the selection of the national president, others feel that “time was running out”. There is also a debate raging over whether to select an OBC or an upper caste for the top post in UP. It was being argued that a candidate from the Scheduled Castes could counter the growing influence of Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party in the state. Among the OBC candidates, Jal Shakti minister Swantantra Dev Singh was emerging as the front-runner.