BJP National President Election: Following Pankaj Chaudhary’s recent appointment as the new state president of Uttar Pradesh, there is growing speculation about the timing of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) upcoming election for national president. Party insiders anticipate that the election could be announced in the near future, though the exact date is still unclear.
Chaudhary, 61, is a leader from the influential Kurmi community, one of the most dominant OBC groups in Uttar Pradesh. He is currently serving as minister of state for finance in the Modi government.
There has been some talk about whether the national president election might be delayed due to the ongoing Kharmaas period, a traditional time considered inauspicious by some. However, a senior BJP leader clarified that Kharmaas is not viewed as a negative period for the party. Another BJP leader hinted that the election might take place after Makar Sankranti, which falls in mid-January.
The push for the national president election picked up after a significant meeting on November 22, 2023, between Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, General Secretary (Organization) BL Santosh, and other senior leaders. This meeting indicated that the organizational elections would be fast-tracked. On November 26, Amit Shah also met with Lakshman, the head of the committee overseeing these elections, to further discuss the timeline.
Further discussions around the organisational elections were linked to a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and BL Santosh inside Parliament after the start of the Winter Session. According to sources cited by Jagran.com, the election of the Uttar Pradesh state president, initially scheduled for a week earlier, was postponed due to the Indigo crisis.
As of the first week of July, 2025 the necessary eligibility criteria for over half of the state presidents have already been met for the national president's election. All members of the BJP National Council participate in the election of the national president. The selection of National Council members coincides with the election of state presidents, so the names of the National Council members from Uttar Pradesh will be announced soon.
Given Uttar Pradesh’s position as the most populous state with the highest number of representatives in the National Council, it was crucial to elect the state president before proceeding with the national president's election.
At this stage, only the state president elections for Delhi, Haryana, Tripura, and Karnataka remain to be held. Among the leading candidates for the national president position are Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Urban Development Minister ML Khattar, and General Secretary Sunil Bansal.