The BJP’s new national organisational team was formed a few days ago, and now there is growing speculation that the party’s Parliamentary Board could also see a reform, change or reshuffle.
One of the names being discussed is Suvendu Adhikari. Could Suvendu Adhikari, as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, get an entry into the BJP’s Parliamentary Board?
But it may not be only Suvendu Adhikari. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis could also be considered for inclusion.
The discussion has already started internally.
The first proposal being discussed is to bring Yogi Adityanath into the Parliamentary Board and give him this recognition and position ahead of the Uttar Pradesh election. Such a move could be useful for the BJP, while Yogi himself would also be happy with the elevation. Within the party, bringing Yogi into the board could also help maintain a balance between Yogi Adityanath and other leaders who may not be particularly favourable towards him. However, there is not much support for bringing in only one Chief Minister.
Several senior BJP leaders have suggested that it would be better to bring the Chief Ministers of Assam, West Bengal and Maharashtra into the Parliamentary Board as well.
There is a precedent for Chief Ministers and senior leaders being included in the board.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa had been a member when he was a very senior leader. At that time, his inclusion was also seen as necessary to neutralise and balance Karnataka politics.
Similarly, when Sarbananda Sonowal was the Chief Minister of Assam, he was appointed a member of the Parliamentary Board.
Usually, leaders from the BJP’s OBC Morcha and the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities have also found a place on the board. Former Members of Parliament such as Dr Sudha Jadhav and Dr Satyanarayan Jatia, who was a former Union minister, have also served as members.
The national general secretary in charge of organisation has traditionally been an ex-officio member. At present, that position is held by B. L. Santhosh. Whoever holds the post of national general secretary (organisation), particularly from the RSS background, becomes an ex-officio member of the Parliamentary Board. That is the established party position.
At the core of the current leadership are BJP national president Nitin Gadkari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Union Minister and former BJP president J. P. Nadda. They are members of the Parliamentary Board.
The BJP Parliamentary Board is the party’s highest decision-making body. It consists of the national president and other senior members who oversee major organisational and political directions of the party.
Apart from the possible changes in the Parliamentary Board, there is also a growing demand within the BJP to bring Sunil Bansal back into Uttar Pradesh’s political activities.
Bansal remains a general secretary of the party. Earlier, he had been the general secretary in charge of West Bengal, and following the BJP’s major success in West Bengal, he moved on to handle Delhi and national BJP activities.
However, there is now a demand that Bansal return to Uttar Pradesh. He had earlier worked in Uttar Pradesh, although his relationship with Yogi Adityanath was not particularly smooth at that time, and there had been some problems between them.
Now, with the Uttar Pradesh election approaching, the party believes that Sunil Bansal may once again be needed in the state. Therefore, the leadership is reconsidering the arrangement.
The party leadership will also have to speak to Yogi Adityanath about this because Yogi now needs to understand that he requires the support of other leaders as well.
Smriti Irani is emerging as a particularly important figure in the Uttar Pradesh campaign. She may take on Rahul Gandhi and the Gandhi family in a major campaign. She has already started doing so, but there could now be a wider Uttar Pradesh campaign, including state-wide and district-wise tours.
It may not remain limited to Amethi and Raebareli. It could become a pan-Uttar Pradesh campaign. Vinod Tawde, another BJP general secretary, will also become an important political figure in Uttar Pradesh.
But beyond all these developments, Suvendu Adhikari is also gaining importance.
After around fifty years, West Bengal has given the BJP an electoral victory. This is not a small matter. The BJP believes that this West Bengal victory should now be used at the national level and incorporated into the party’s national campaign.
However, even after around 100 days, the impact of the BJP’s victory in West Bengal has not been felt as strongly at the national level as the party would have wanted. The BJP has still not been able to fully use the West Bengal victory to create a wider political wave in its favour across the country.
The party believes that several factors are responsible for this. The Gen Z movement, followed by the Opposition’s activities in Parliament, have created a different political atmosphere and, for various reasons, have prevented the West Bengal victory from having the kind of national impact the BJP expected. Now, the party believes that all these issues have to be addressed properly.
That is why West Bengal has become particularly important.
West Bengal is also extremely important from the perspective of national security. The issue of the chicken’s neck has been repeatedly emphasised by Amit Shah, particularly in the context of border security.
Suvendu Adhikari has already said that the government has given the BSF 300 kilometres of the border-related responsibility. At the same time, one of the first Cabinet decisions was aimed at making the border more sealed and secure. There are still 54 acres remaining to be secured. Suvendu has said today that this too will be completed very soon, within one week. On Monday, 24 August 2026, he has said that the work will be completed within seven days.
All these developments are adding to Suvendu Adhikari’s importance.
