BJP starts process to rejig Punjab unit from tomorrow
There’s no culture of staking claim to a post in BJP. My focus at present is to make BJP the biggest political outfit in Punjab by 2022. Our membership drive is getting huge response in rural areas
SHWAIT MALIK, state BJP chief
CHANDIGARH: With its confidence running high after getting a good response to its membership drive in Punjab, the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) is all set to set in motion the process to rejig its state unit from Wednesday and appoint the new president by December.
To start with, the party will decide on office-bearers at the booth level through what it calls an “internal election” followed by elections at the block and district level.
The process to appoint officebearers up to the district level will be over by November 30, it is learnt.
As per the schedule, the “election” for the state party chief is likely to be held by December 10.
Even as there election for the state party chief is considered a mere formality as the name for the party presidents are always decided by the high-command, what has added to the excitement is the hype created by the party over its membership drive.
As per state BJP chief Shwait Malik, the party in Punjab crossed 7 lakh figure in its fresh membership drive against the target of 2 lakh given by the high command. By January next year, the party has decided to enrol at least 25 members at every booth, he added.
All eyes are on the selection of the next state chief as the next Punjab assembly polls in 2022 will be contested under his leadership.
“The appointment of the next state party chief will reflect the party’s strategy in Punjab. An aggressive president will signal the party’s ambition to spread its base in Punjab,” a former BJP minister from the Majha region said.
Also, the incumbent state president Shwait Malik is also all set to reclaim the post by listing his “achievements”.
Malik has not completed the full tenure of three years as he was appointed by removing then Union minister of state Vijay Sampla in March last year.
“In the BJP, there is no culture of staking claim to a post. My focus at present is to make BJP the biggest political outfit in Punjab by 2022. The party’s membership drive is getting a stupendous response in rural and Sikh-dominated areas. It will continue till January next year,” said Malik while speaking to HT.
Former state BJP chiefs Kamal Sharma and Ashwani Sharma, party’s incharge for Jammu and Kashmir Avinash Rai Khanna, former Punjab ministers Anil Joshi and Manoranjan Kalia are other contenders for the post.