BJP releases 80-member National Executive list; Maneka, Varun dropped

BJP president J P Nadda announced the 80-member National Executive of the party on Thursday, with the names of its top brass, ranging from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to many Union ministers, several state leaders and veterans like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi figuring on the list.

BJP MP Varun Gandhi, who has been speaking in support of farmers during their ongoing stir against the three agri laws, his MP mother Maneka Gandhi and former Union minister Birender Singh, who has also been supportive of the agitation, have been dropped as executive members.

Besides 80 regular members, the executive will also have 50 special invitees and 179 permanent invitees.

The executive is a key deliberative body of the party which meets to discuss key issues facing the government and shapes the organisation's agenda. The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented its meeting for a long time.

Many Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, are expectedly on the list with recently inducted minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also being included.

Former Union ministers like Harsh Vardhan, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar also remain the members of the national executive.