Amit Shah to be named BJP president today

His elevation is expected to give a boost to cadres preparing for Assembly polls

Considered the architect of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s impressive performance in Uttar Pradesh in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Amit Shah is all set to take over as the new party president. A formal announcement is expected on Wednesday after the party’s parliamentary board meeting.

Mr. Shah, party general secretary, is a confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has worked closely with him in Gujarat. He was handpicked to steer the party’s election campaign in Uttar Pradesh which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The BJP and its allies bagged 73 seats.

According to party sources, the elevation of Mr. Shah is expected to give a boost to party cadres preparing for Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Mr. Shah, a former Gujarat Home Minister, will succeed the current BJP president and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Mr. Shah is expected to announce a new team which will include at least three general secretaries to replace Ananth Kumar, Dharmendra Pradhan and Thawarchand Gehlot, all of whom have been made Ministers.

The party will also have to nominate a team of spokespersons, with Nirmala Sitharaman and Prakash Javadekar also becoming Ministers.

The party’s other spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi has also been elected MP from the New Delhi constituency.