Gadkari resigns, Rajnath Singh likely to be next BJP president

TNN

New Delhi,  22 January 2013: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Rajnath Singh is slatedto be the next BJP president, according to TV reports. RSS hasaccepted his appointment.

 

The decision was taken in a meet of its top leaders at Arun Jaitely’s
house. Nitin Gadkari has submitted his resignation from the post of
party president, TV reports said.

 

Rajnath Singh has been a former BJP president

Earlier, high drama unfolded in the BJP on the eve of election of a new party president with Yashwant Sinha procuring a nomination form.

 

Sinha created a flutter this evening when he procured a nomination form and voters’ list from chief electoral officer, Thawar Chand Gehlot. Advani declined to answer newsmen’s questions as to whether Sinha, a former Union minister, is in the race.

 

Confirming this, Gehlot said Sinha is the only person to have taken the form from him till now. However, he hastened to add that the forms are easily available on the party website and state headquarters of the BJP.

 

Earlier in the day, Mahesh Jethmalani said he is being denied a nomination form to prevent him from contesting.

 

Party veterans point out that despite all the pretence of an election of the BJP president, the stringent provisions of the party Constitution will make it difficult for the forms of Sinha and Jethmalani to be accepted.

 

A candidate for the BJP presidential poll should have been an active member of the party for 12 consecutive years and an ordinary member for 15 years. He would also need atleast 20 proposers each from fivedifferent state units, which adds upto 100.