If incumbent Rajnath Singh joins the Modi government then Jagat Prakash Nadda, BJP general secretary in charge of headquar ters, has emerged as favourite to take over as BJP chief.
According to Sources, the low-profile Nadda has the support of the dominant section of BJP leadership as well as the RSS.
He worked with Modi when the PM designate was general secretary in charge of Nadda’s home state of Himachal.He enjoys a close rapport with Modi, the two lived in the outhouse of the BJP headquarters at Ashoka Road.
Nadda, who was minister for environment in HP, has also worked with Amit Shah, BJP’s `star’ general secretary, in the party’s youth wing.
Nadda was a strong contender for the top job in BJP. Sources in the party said the Nadda-Amit Shah duo would be a key to the plan to align the BJP with Modi’s priorities as per TOI was the first to write about him.
According to sources, the situation would crystallize only on Sunday after Modi had held talks with allies.
Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal and his son, deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, met Modi on Friday; Shiv Sena chief Udhav Thackeray and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu are expected to meet him on Saturday.
On a day when Modi held joint and separate deliberations with Rajnath, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah and Arun Shourie, few party leaders had any clear idea about what was in store for them. Those desperately trying to read ministerial tea leaves included those who were considered a shoo-in for big portfolios on account of their popular estimate, seniority, and their own swagger on the day of Modi’s victory.
Senior BJP leaders Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley also met RSS functionary Suresh Soni.
The information deficit armored the perception about Modi’s rise as the unquestioned boss of the party. The appointment of his close friend Nadda as the next BJP chief, if it goes through, may mark the beginning of the Modi era in the Sangh Parivar.
“Nadda is emerging as the best choice as he suits both the party top leadership and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh),” a senior party leader told a news agency today in Shimla.