BJP President Nitin Nabin’s team settling down, anticipation is now high over a reshuffle in the party’s highest decision-making body – the Parliamentary Board. Under the party constitution, the Board is empowered to recommend appointments for positions such as Prime Minister and Chief Minister. It also holds the authority to form alliances, make policy decisions, and initiate disciplinary actions. All members of the Parliamentary Board also serve on the Central Election Committee, which finalises candidates for elections.
It is likely that Nitin Nabin will soon constitute the Parliamentary Board, the Central Election Committee, the National Executive, and the National Council. The party’s National President serves as the ex-officio chairman of the Parliamentary Board, while a General Secretary is appointed as its secretary. Senior leaders are typically included in the Parliamentary Board, with special attention paid to regional, caste, and religious equations during its formation. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is currently a member of the Central Election Committee but not the Parliamentary Board. Senior Chief Ministers like Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh) and Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam) also have strong claims for inclusion. Currently, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, and former Mahila Morcha president V. Srinivasan are members. Now, with Roop Kumari Chaudhary serving as the Mahila Morcha president, she will become an ex-officio member of the Central Election Committee. It remains to be seen whether Nitin Gadkari will retain Fadnavis and Yadav as members or make way for new faces. Nitin Gadkari will also constitute the National Executive, which is the party’s principal executive body.
When Rajnath Singh became party president in 2006, he removed then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi from the Parliamentary Board – a body Modi had joined during the tenure of former president LK Advani. Apart from the president, it can have a maximum of 120 members. Mandatory quotas require that at least 40 members be women and 12 from the SC/ST categories.
The Chief Minister of a BJP-ruled state was also included as a member of the Parliamentary Board; however, this practice has previously been a subject of controversy.
Furthermore, the national president has the authority to nominate special invitees and permanent invitees as deemed necessary. A National Council will also be constituted, comprising members elected by state councils, 10 percent of the members of the parliamentary party, all former party presidents, leaders in state legislative assemblies and legislative councils, all members of the National Executive, presidents of all national party fronts, and up to 20 members nominated by the National President.
