The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun the election process of its new president. K. Laxman who is MP from Telangana has been appointed as the National Returning Officer to look after the process.

As per the directives of the party's National Executive Committee, current president J.P. Nadda has appointed Rekha Verma as vice-president, along with MP Sambit Patra and Naresh Bansal as co-returning officers to support Laxman during the process.

K. Laxman, who has been the president of the BJP's OBC Morcha since 2020, is a member of the Rajya Sabha and plays a crucial role on the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC), contributing to important electoral decisions. This group is responsible for appointing election officers in each state and ensuring that elections are conducted according to the party's constitution.

Nadda, who has been leading the party since January 2020, is currently serving an extended term while also fulfilling his duties as Union Health Minister. The upcoming leadership election follows a significant membership drive that has successfully added over 90 million new members to the party, indicating a period of growth and organisational strengthening for the BJP.

Sources indicate that the selection process for the new president will begin in December this year. If delayed, it may be pushed to next year, likely after at least half of the states have completed their organisational elections.

As the current period progresses, the second phase of the membership drive is set to end. After this, elections will occur at various block, district, and state levels, ultimately leading to the election of the national president.

Maharashtra and Jharkhand will begin their membership drives after the assembly elections end on November 23. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir, which recently completed its elections, will follow suit shortly.

Nadda completed his three-year term in 2023, which was extended to leading the leadership transition. According to party rules, the presidential term is typically three years and is usually decided by consensus. A BJP leader stated that changing leadership is crucial for keeping the party strong and prepared for future challenges, with new leaders playing a key role in guiding the party and improving its organisation in preparation for important elections in 2025 and beyond.

Other names suggested for the role of party president include Vinod Tawde, Devendra Fadnavis, Bhupendra Yadav, Sanjay Joshi, Sudha Verma, Arun Singh, and Sunil Bansal. Reflecting the Prime Minister's message, a senior party leader indicated that the next party leader could be from the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Beside this, important appointments for the Delhi Legislative Assembly elections are also scheduled for early next year, with Lok Sabha MPs Baijayant Panda and Atul Garg appointed as in-charge and co-in-charge of this appointment process, respectively.