Let's talk: editor@tmv.in
BJP Releases schedule for election of national president

BJP Releases schedule for election of national president

Katravath Sanjay
January 17, 2026

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday released a detailed organisational poll schedule clarifying the procedure and electoral mechanism for the election of its national president, stressing that the post is filled through an internal democratic process and not by nomination.

According to the schedule issued by BJP national returning officer K Laxman, the election process will begin on January 19 with a fixed time window for filing nominations. This will be followed by scrutiny of nomination papers on the same day to ensure that candidates meet eligibility criteria and comply with party rules. A separate time slot on January 19 has also been provided for withdrawal of nominations, a step aimed at facilitating consensus within the party.

The BJP has made it clear that polling will be held on January 20 only if more than one valid nomination remains after the withdrawal stage. In the absence of a contest, the lone candidate will be declared elected unopposed. The formal announcement of the new national president will also be made on January 20.

The election is conducted by an internal electoral college comprising members of the BJP National Council , who are elected from state units across the country through the party’s organisational hierarchy. These members are authorised under the BJP constitution to elect the party’s top office-bearers.

According to party sources, BJP national working president Nitin Nabin is the only leader likely to be in the race and is expected to be elected unopposed, as no other senior leader is likely to file nomination papers. Nabin is widely seen as the consensus candidate of the party leadership and is expected to succeed outgoing president J P Nadda.

All stages of the election process will be held at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi. Party leaders said the transparent, time-bound procedure is intended to remove ambiguity and reinforce organisational discipline and structured decision-making in the selection of the party’s top office-bearer.