After midnight BJP-RSS huddle, Nitin Nabin’s new team may be announced soon

Apart from the BJP organisational overhaul, government-related changes are also expected along with a reshuffle of Governors. “The announcement of significant organisational, gubernatorial, and government-related changes is likely to take place any time since the adhik maas period, during which the party traditionally avoids such matters due to religious concerns, ended yesterday (June 15). But it remains to be seen whether it is delayed till PM Modi’s return on June 19,” this source said.

BJP sources said Nabin’s team — 11 national vice presidents and six national general secretaries — will likely see the party attempt to balance its gender and caste composition and maintain a healthy mix of young and experienced leaders. There will also be representation from states going to the polls next year, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, and states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. The BJP’s national organisational ranks have largely remained intact since the six-year tenure of Nabin’s predecessor and current Union Health Minister J P Nadda began in January 2020, a party leader said.

The ruling party has already started making changes, shifting leaders around. Earlier this month, BJP national general secretaries Vinod Tawde and Tarun Chugh, both considered strong organisational and strategic hands, were elevated to the Rajya Sabha alongside national secretary Alka Gurjar and former Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia.

The party did not extend the Rajya Sabha tenure of Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, also a BJP national general secretary, while MoS Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian are set to be replaced following the end of their terms in the Upper House on June 21. Arun Singh, a senior BJP leader who also serves as national general secretary, is due to retire in November.

“Some of the sitting national general secretaries, especially Tawde and Chugh, are seen as key office-bearers with a proven track record of delivering on political tasks. So, it remains to be seen whether they remain part of the new team or are considered fit for positions such as MoS, for instance,” a senior BJP leader said.

“Several other leaders, who have served the organisation over the last six years, could be rewarded for their contribution by being placed in gubernatorial roles or in semi-governmental organisations such as boards and commissions,” the leader said.

With the tenure of close to a dozen Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh set to end in November, a source said senior leaders from across poll-bound states who will not make it to the new team might be accommodated in the Upper House.