New BJP president by December: Amit Shah

BJP president Amit Shah said on Monday that he will make way for a new leader to head the saffron party when its organisational elections are over by the end of this year.

Shah, who is also the Union home minister, said a new party president is expected to take charge by December.

Speaking to India Today, Shah rejected the notion that he will remain the "super power" running the party from behind the scene, saying similar claims were made when he took over as the BJP chief in 2014 and once his replacement starts running the organisation such speculation will be put to rest.

"This (BJP) is not the Congress party and nobody can run it from behind the scene," he said, stating that it will be run as per its constitution.

He was asked that many believe he will remain the "super power" running the party's affairs even after he is no longer heading the organisation.

It is widely believed in the BJP circles that its working president J P Nadda will replace Shah at the helm.

With the BJP generally following the norm of 'one person one post', it was expected that Shah will make way for a new leader after being inducted as a Cabinet minister by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his government.

"Elections (organisational) are going on. A new president will assume responsibility by December and take charge of the party's affairs," he said in his first comments on the matter.

Amid claims by BJP's ally Shiv Sena that the party will work to have its own chief minister in the poll-bound Maharashtra, Shah said the saffron alliance is fighting the assembly polls under Devendra Fadnavis and that he will again head the state government.

Maharashtra and Haryana are going to assembly polls on October 21. The counting of votes is slated for October 24.