50% BJP posts to be reserved for home-grown leaders

With a new organisational team of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set to be declared after Gujarat polls scheduled early December, 50% posts are learnt to have become reserved for the Congress leaders who have recently switched over to the saffron party.

According to a senior party functionary, to maintain a balance between the home-grown leaders and those who have switched over from other parties mainly the Congress, the party high command has reached a formula to adjust both leaders with 50:50 ratio.

The formula has been reached amid resentment among the home-grown leaders that the party was giving too much importance to those who have switched to the BJP from the Congress.

The major leaders who have joined the BJP from the Congress are former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Sunil Jakhar, former ministers, Balbir Sidhu, Sundar Shyam Arora, Dr Raj Kumar Verka, Gurpreet Kangar who had joined the BJP after the assembly polls.

Four Congress leaders, former ministers Rana Gurmeet Sodhi, former MLA, Fateh Jung Bajwa, former spokesperson Nimisha Mehta had joined the BJP before assembly polls and unsuccessfully contested the polls.

After former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh merged his political party Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) with the BJP, many senior PLC leaders, including its organisational secretary, Kamal Saini and Patiala Mayor, Sanjeev Bittu are also in the reckoning to be adjusted into the new team.

As there is a huge pressure from the new joinees to get adjusted in the new team that too on important posts as most of them are former Congress heavyweights, the 50:50 formula is the brainchild of the party high-command to strike a balance.

What is the problem with the BJP that as per its organisational structure, the number of seats of vice-presidents, general secretaries and secretaries are fixed whereas in the Congress, no such division of team is fixed.

“The party is discussing names of big faces from home grown and ex-Congressmen to adjust them in new seats. Since new party affairs in-charge for Punjab and ex-Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani is busy in electioneering in his home state, new team is likely to be announced after the assembly polls,” a senior party leader at the helm of affairs in the present team said.

At present, all seats in the new team are with the old guards of the party.

Even as the party is yet to give signal to replace state BJP chief Ashwani Sharma, he is likely to be retained in the new team, it is learnt.

Party general secretary, Subhash Sharma, when contacted on the issue said, the call on the new team has to be taken by the party high command.

We are discussing names of home-grown as well as leaders who have left the Congress to join the BJP for party posts. The new team is likely to be announced after the Gujarat assembly polls.

A SENIOR BJP LEADER,