Thakres Team Awaits Pms Nod

BJP President Kushabhau Thakre is awaiting a missive from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Union home minister L K Advani on the likely names of the partys office-bearers for 1998-2000.

Thakre has already sent a list containing the names of the probables to Advani and Vajpayee. Some senior party leaders hold that the announcement of the partys new office-bearers would depend on the Vajpayee governments decision on cabinet expansion.

If the expansion takes place before the Budget session, the new office-bearers would be announced only after the expansion, one of them disclosed. However, if Vajpayee decides to expand his ministry after the Budget session the name of the office-bearers would be announced this week, he added.

 

In the second case, Thakre is reported to have sought information from Vajpayee regarding the BJP leaders names he was likely to consider for induction in the Union council of ministers. This would save the party from duplication as some persons being considered for the office-bearers posts are also likely to be inducted in the ministry, a party leader said.

Some of the names which is being considered for induction in the Cabinet are Bangaru Laxman, Sumitra Mahajan and Ramdas Agarwal. They are also being considered for the posts of the partys office-bearers. While Agarwal is being considered for either general secretary or vice-president, Laxman is being considered for vice president. Sumitra Mahajan is being tipped as either a secretary or a general secretary. Agarwal and VP Goyal are both being considered for the party treasurers post. Goyal has been the treasurer during Advanis tenure as party president.

Three names have already been finalised for the post of general secretary which includes KN Govindacharya, Venkaiah Naidu and Narendra Modi. Agarwal, KL Sharma, Sangh Priya Gautam and Sumitra Mahajan are being considered to fill the other two vacancies of general secretaries.

Both Gautam and Mahajan may continue as party secretary in case the partys senior leadership decide against their elevation, a party leader said. Among the various other names being considered for vice-presidents are Vishnu Kant Shastri, O Rajgopal, Jana Krishnamurthy, Jayawanti Mehta and Mridulla Sinha.

Mridullah Sinhas elevation depends on the partys inability to find any other women candidate for the office-bearers post. The partys constitution makes it necessary for the inclusion of at least two women in the list of its office-bearers. Some party leaders have proposed that a women leader from Karnataka be brought in the central office bearers list.

Among the names being considered for the secretaries posts are Basav Raj Patil, Mahesh Chandra and Vinay Katiyar. A surprise inclusion in the list could be Syed Shahnawaz Hussain for secretarys post.

He is currently a secretary of the party youth wing. The party constitution also makes it necessary for the inclusion of two persons each from the minority community, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the list of office-bearers.

Among the various morcha chiefs, Maya Singh is likely to become the Mahila Mrcha president. The party is undecided on who should succeed Uma Bharati who made the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha a formidable force within the party. Ramashis Rai (Uttar Pradesh,) Krishna Reddy (Andhra Pradesh,) and Shahlearbhai Choudhury (Gujarat) are being considered as her successor. Rameshwar Prasad and Bharat Pandiya are being considered as the BJYMs general secretary.