New Delhi: In the run-up to the election for its national president, the BJP has picked heads of its several state units, with all of them having a few things in common – rooted in ideology and having connections with RSS, worked in the organisation for a long time and a relatively low profile.
It is a mix of continuity and change for the elections of BJP state unit presidents. While the BJP has reposed faith in the old leadership in Chandigarh and Chhattisgarh, it has opted for a change in Assam, Goa and Maharashtra.
Jatinder Pal Malhotra and Kiran Singh Deo were re-elected as BJP presidents of Chandigarh and Chattisgarh unit, respectively. While in Assam and Goa, BJP opted for a change and appointed Damu G Naik and Dilip Saikia as new state unit chiefs. Both Saikia and Naik were associated with the RSS. Naik, a two-time MLA, has been with the Sangh from his student days while Saikia started his political journey from student days and was associated with ABVP, the student wing of RSS.
“The party has chosen a common worker like me as the president of the Assam unit. In our party, a booth worker can emerge on the national scene and for us party workers three things matter most – nation, organisation and ideology,” Saikia told ET. There are a few things in common among all these that the BJP’s central leadership has considered those who have an approach of “Karyakarta” and are deeply rooted in the ideology and have been working for the organisation for several decades. Silent and committed workers are being rewarded and the same could be the way forward, party leaders said.
In these appointments, caste considerations are also taken into account. Like in Goa, Naik hails from the influential Bhandari caste.
In Maharashtra, the BJP has appointed Ravindra Chavan, an old party hand, who has a low profile and is committed to the party ideology. With a Brahmin being the CM of the BJP-led MVA government in the state, the BJP has opted for a Maratha, influential community in the state, as its state unit president.
The message from these appointments is loud and clear that leaders rooted in ideology, and who have worked in the organisation with a low profile will sail the BJP’s ship in the coming days.
