The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced Nitin Nabin the party’s new National President, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the newly-elected chief as “my boss in party matters”.
Nabin was declared the BJP national president at the party headquarters earlier today after the Bihar MLA emerged as the sole candidate for the top party post.
However, the Opposition took a jibe at the announcement of Nabin as the party president and questioned the election process for the post.
Congress’ media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, targeted the Chief Election Commissioner, while also claiming that the BJP was “playing Bigg Boss”.
“Is Bigg Boss game being played here. What is this? The biggest boss of Hindu dharma is shedding tears and they are busy playing Bigg Boss,” PTI news agency quoted Khera as saying. He further said, “Gyanesh Kumar wants to resign in protest; he has no role, he can’t even influence, he can’t even manipulate anything.”
Khera questioned where the elections were held, while saying that the BJP announced the president first and then said there would be an election. “Where is the election? Why do you even call it an election. You announce the president first and then say there will be an election, and then there is no election,” Khera said at a press conference, according to PTI.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha said that it was the BJP’s “internal matter”, but claimed that Nabin’s election had been “pre-decided.” “It is the party’s internal matter, but there was nothing like an electoral process in all of this. Whatever happened was pre-decided…” Jha said, while congratulating Nabin.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi also said Nabin’s election was the party’s decision, adding that it was being made into a “big issue.” “the real issues are that a Muslim person was lynched by mob, unemployment…” ANI quoted Owaisi as saying.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore also questioned the election, while claiming that PM Modi and union home minister Amit Shah take decisions in the BJP.
“There is no democracy in BJP, only HM Amit Shah and PM Modi take the decisions and they have proved it again… What is the work of the returning officer when there is no election?” Tagore asked, while saying that the Congress had held elections for the party president’s post wherein Shashi Tharoor and Mallikarjun Kharge were candidates.
“… BJP is an authoritative party and moving towards dictatorship… Even RSS is stunned to see this…” the Congress MP told ANI.
Nabin assumed charged as the BJP president in the presence of senior leaders, including PM Modi, outgoing party chief J P Nadda, and several union ministers. The 45-year-old is the youngest leader to be elected the BJP national head, and will be the 12th president of the party.