Deadlock in BJP? Why 7 key states still await elections for chiefs

India Today

09-07-2025

The BJP, as of July 9, has completed organisational elections in 29 of its 36 state units (including the nomination of a working president in Punjab), achieving the requisite quorum for electing a new national president.On July 7, the Odisha unit re-elected Manmohan Samal as president. Yet, in seven politically crucial states, including strongholds Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana, the party has still not appointed new state chiefs. While the quorum for the national president's election is technically complete, the prolonged indecision in these remaining states reflects deeper factional tensions, leadership dilemmas and strategic uncertainty. The BJP constitution requires 50 per cent of the states to have elected representatives. The senior leadership wants unanimity in the matter and is also keen to complete the process in all states before the national president is elected.advertisementThe party has announced the election process for unit presidents in all states except Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi and Manipur. However, the election of district chiefs in Delhi and Jharkhand has been completed, and the process can be announced and the state presidents elected within a few days. For Punjab—where the quorum isn't in place—the party has announced a working president.Home minister Amit Shah is travelling to Ranchi on July 9-10 to take part in a meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council. He is also likely to meet the core group of the Jharkhand BJP. Meanwhile, party leaders have been in parleys with leaders in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat to iron out the glitches.
In Karnataka, more than a year after the 2024 Lok Sabha poll setback and the May 2023 assembly election defeat, the BJP has yet to resolve its leadership tussle. The state unit is split between the Lingayat old guard, led by B.S. Yediyurappa, and his arch rivals.Yediyurappa's younger son and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra is the current state unit chief, and has the backing of the national leadership for re-election. However, BJP national general secretary B.L. Santhosh continues to rally his opponents. These include former chief minister and Lok Sabha MP Basavaraj Bommai, who, along with others, is reportedly insisting on anyone but Vijayendra for the role.The lack of a clear post-Yediyurappa consensus, combined with worries about the upcoming Bengaluru municipal elections and the erosion of Lok Sabha seats, has paralysed decision-making. The party still has no credible alternative to Yediyurappa and his son to consolidate the powerful Lingayat vote base and build a broader caste coalition.BJP leaders privately acknowledge that replacing Yediyurappa with Bommai in July 2021 had damaged the party's support base. With the next assembly elections due in 2028 and the ruling Congress seen as drifting into factionalism, the BJP leadership is keen to keep its house intact.In Gujarat, a state the party has ruled for the past three decades, the delay is less about procedural lapses and more about turf wars. C.R. Patil, though nearing the end of his extended tenure, continues to hold informal sway. The central leadership is caught between Patil's entrenched organisational grip, chief minister Bhupendra Patel's camp and local leaders jockeying for prominence. There's also an underlying caste calculation—balancing Patidar dominance with rising OBC aspirations, especially as the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have made modest inroads.advertisementUttar Pradesh, the BJP's most important electoral base, is the most sensitive case. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath's growing stature and his tight control over both governance and messaging have made the central leadership cautious. Any new state president seen as too close to Adityanath risks upsetting power equations in Delhi.Any state chief perceived as imposed from the top could provoke resistance in Lucknow. After the party's underwhelming Lok Sabha poll performance in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Ayodhya in 2024, the leadership has not yet found a consensus candidate who can both complement and counterbalance Adityanath. The post-poll introspection highlighted growing differences between the government and the organisation. The hard bargain over this balance is delaying the appointment.In Haryana, the BJP continues to operate under the shadow of former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Though he has moved to the national stage, Khattar has left behind a fractured organisation. The central leadership has yet to decide whether to bank on Khattar's legacy or elevate leaders from other factions.advertisementLast month, Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh flexed his muscles by hosting a dinner for 11 BJP MLAs and Congress legislator Manju Chaudhary at his daughter Aarti Rao's new residence in Chandigarh. Singh, a Congress turncoat, has a strong base in south Haryana and adjoining parts of Rajasthan, but his advancing age is a concern. Current state president Mohan Lal Badoli is both a close aide of chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and seen as part of the Khattar camp. The resulting deadlock has left the state unit rudderless at a critical juncture.In Punjab, the BJP's organisational drift has deepened. The party is still without district-level presidents in several key areas, and state chief Sunil Jakhar—originally brought in for his Congressman gravitas—has become increasingly disengaged and now even seen as a liability by some quarters. Party insiders complain Jakhar has tried to run the BJP like the Congress without understanding the party's or the Sangh Parivar's DNA.The sudden death of state in-charge Vijay Rupani in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad in June further created a vacuum. On July 7, the BJP appointed party old-timer Ashwani Sharma as working president of the Punjab unit. He will now work with general secretary (organisation) Mantri Srinivas to accelerate the appointment of district-level chiefs.advertisementThe Punjab unit lacks direction, with cadre demoralised cadre and no clear revival plan in a state where the party had once hoped to emerge as the main Opposition. All eyes are on Sharma to rebuild momentum before the assembly polls in 2027.In Delhi, despite sweeping all seven Lok Sabha seats in 2024 and defeating AAP resoundingly in the assembly polls, the party has dithered over finalising a state president. District chiefs have been elected and the morale is high, but the leadership is weighing whether to continue with incumbent Virendra Sachdeva or bring in a more visible face to energise the cadre. With a 'triple engine' government—BJP at the Centre, in the state and in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi—the job of the next state unit chief becomes even more critical. While the BJP is on a strong wicket in the state, replacing Sachdeva too quickly may cause internal friction.Jharkhand presents an ongoing caste conundrum. After a decent performance in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, the BJP is struggling to strike the right caste balance. The party is torn between projecting a tribal leader to challenge the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) or consolidating its non-tribal base. Senior leader Babulal Marandi remains influential but is seen as past his peak. The delay reflects the party's broader indecision over the tribal-versus-OBC leadership debate—critical in the state's polarised political climate.advertisementIn Manipur, political activity is effectively frozen. Ethnic tensions between Meitei and Kuki groups have made any organisational reshuffle unviable. Former chief minister N. Biren Singh faced opposition from within his own MLAs and has lost credibility among both communities. The state is under president's rule to restore normalcy. With law and order still fragile and the Centre treading carefully, the BJP is avoiding any visible changes that could further destabilise the situation.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch