It is not just allies, BJP faces new equations within

As a first step, the party will soon have to elect a national president as J P Nadda's extended term is ending this month. Subsequently, the organisation is expected to go for a complete overhaul with the state units also getting new office-bearers.

After voters denied the BJP an absolute majority on its own for a third term, party sources told The Indian Express that the new political reality may also set the stage for a churn within the party in the months ahead with murmurs against the central leadership’s style of functioning likely to find renewed voice.

As with its NDA allies, who will have a crucial say in the new Government, the BJP would also have to adopt a more consensual approach within the party, the sources said. “It (the Lok Sabha polls) will create a new chapter in the BJP. The leadership is no longer beyond questioning or criticism,” a senior BJP leader told The Indian Express.

According to party leaders, the BJP is looking to manage its allies with a system similar to the one followed by the NDA government of A B Vajpayee — an “effective” alliance convener, and frequent meetings and consultations with alliance partners for every major decision.

The party may have to mirror this template internally, they said. The decline in Rajasthan, where Vasundhara Raje still wields influence, and the wins of other veterans such as Shivraj Singh Chouhan in MP, Nitin Gadkari in Maharashtra and Rajnath Singh in UP, will increase their importance in the party, leaders said.

Several BJP leaders who spoke to The Indian Express insisted that the Lok Sabha results would not bring about an immediate change in the party as the NDA fought “under Modi’s leadership”. But they admitted that “the leadership would have to review its style of functioning” and discuss decisions and internal appointments more extensively. “The nomination culture will be over,” said a party leader from UP, responding in jest to a query on the emerging internal dynamics.

As a first step, the party will soon have to elect a national president as J P Nadda’s extended term is ending this month. Subsequently, the organisation is expected to go for a complete overhaul with the state units also getting new office-bearers.

Party sources pointed out that with the emergence of Rahul Gandhi as a more formidable Opposition leader, a Congress revival is on the cards. “Not only anti-BJP forces but also unhappy and disgruntled leaders in the party could flock behind him. This could make the future of the Congress brighter, raising fresh challenges for the BJP in many places,” the sources said.

The sources also said that regular communication at the senior level between the BJP and its ideological parent RSS had faced a setback in the recent past. With the BJP growing as a strong organisation, its reliance on the Sangh for its outreach programmes at the ground level in many key areas had come down. “But now, with the BJP facing a setback in this election, there will be efforts to improve relations and regularise communications,” said a party source.