BJP effects changes to address organisational, political issues

New Delhi: With its eyes fixed on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP is likely to continue with changes at key positions in its several state units to address organisational issues and emerging political challenges.

The recent revamp of its apex organisational body, Parliamentary Board, may have made more news for its omissions of Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, but the BJP has also made it more socially and regionally representative.

For the first time, non-upper castes are in a majority in the board, as the party continues with its outreach to traditionally weaker and backward sections of society. Prior to this, the BJP top brass had effected changes in several states and is now likely to appoint a new president of its Uttar Pradesh unit and bring in some new faces in Bihar, where its traditional calculation has been upended after JD(U) dumped it and joined hands with the RJD-Congress-Left combine.

In the last few weeks, the BJP has appointed state presidents in Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh and shuffled people manning crucial positions in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal. The ruling party had reaped a bumper harvest in most of these states in 2019 and made major gains in West Bengal and Telangana.

Sushila Ramaswamy, a professor at the Department of Political Science in Jesus and Mary College, praised the BJP's move to bring in new faces, including in the parliamentary board, saying they bring new ideas, perspective and energy, which is always good for democracy.

A strength of democracy is ensuring "non-fixity of tenure for any one person", she said, suggesting that Opposition parties can learn a lesson or two from the ruling party.