Amit Shah set to be re-elected as BJP chief for second term

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to re-elect incumbent president Amit Shah as its chief. The announcement in this regard is likely to be made on January 23, the day when Shah completes his tenure.

According to party sources, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has also given its nod for a full term to Shah, who technically completed the then president Rajnath Singh’s remaining tenure after the latter was inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet as Home Minister.

Party insiders claimed that Shah’s name would be announced on Saturday and if in case it doesn’t happen, the BJP would declare him as its chief on January 27, a day after the Republic Day celebrations.

Soon after Shah’s re-election to the top post, a new team will also be formed, in which some new faces will be inducted and given greater responsibilities in the party. Sources said in a major change at the organisational level, Ram Lal, who has been the organisational secretary for over a decade, would be discharged from his duties and may be given other key responsibilities. Lal may be sent to the Rajya Sabha, while his junior V Satish may step into his shoes as the latter is emerging as frontrunner for the post.

Apart from Satish, BL Santosh and Shiv Prakash are also being seen as strong contenders for the organisational post. It has been learnt that office-bearers of the RSS and the BJP have discussed in detail about Shah’s new team.

Sources added Shah has expressed interest in selecting Satish over others as the nature of latter is similar to Lal, who always refrained from indulging in controversies. Also Satish and Shah have worked together in Gujarat.

Sources added that Shiv Prakash is the first choice for the organisational secretary. Lal’s choice has the backing of Rajnath Singh as Prakash belongs to the poll-bound UP and served as the Kshetra Pracharak of Western UP prior to his spell in the BJP. The UP Assembly elections is slated to be held in 2017 and registering a win in the state is the BJP’s utmost priority. It’s learnt that the RSS is favouring Santosh for the post.