By Aashique Hussain

New Delhi [India], June 29 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated its internal organisational elections, beginning with the appointment of state unit presidents across the country.

According to party sources, the election process in most states is expected to be completed within the next three weeks, while in states like Jharkhand, it is likely to conclude by the end of August.

Several states are expected to elect their state unit presidents within the coming week. Following the election of presidents in at least five states, the process to select the national president will commence.

As per the BJP's constitution, district presidents are elected after elections are held in half of the party's mandals (blocks), state presidents are chosen after elections in half of the districts, and the national president is elected only after state presidents have been appointed in at least half of the states.

So far, the BJP has appointed new state presidents in 14 states, while organisational elections are required in a total of 37 states and Union Territories. This indicates that state presidents still need to be appointed in at least 19 more regions.

The BJP will announce the names of the new state presidents for Uttarakhand and Maharashtra on July 1. Union Minister Harsh Malhotra has been designated as the election officer for Uttarakhand, while Union Minister Kiren Rijiju will act as the returning officer for Maharashtra.

Next week, the BJP is expected to announce state unit presidents in several more states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.

The term of the BJP's national president JP Nadda officially ended in January 2023. However, in view of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party leadership extended his tenure until June 2024. With the general elections now concluded and the organisational election process gaining momentum, the appointment of a new national president is likely to take place soon. (ANI)