BJP to revamp central team

Although Bharatiya Janata Party president M Venkaiah Naidu had stressed that there would be no witch hunt, heads are set to roll after the election debacle as some leaders feel that a change in the party structure would revitalise it in the run-up to assembly polls in various states.

Also, with so many top leaders having lost in the elections, they will have to be adjusted within the party organisation.

"Earlier, when we thought we would win the elections, we planned that many top leaders would be accommodated within the government, now the situation is different," said a source in the BJP.

According to a senior leader, although Venkaiah Naidu would be asked to complete his tenure till 2007, the central team will be revamped.

At least three general secretaries and as many vice-presidents would have to go. "This will not include Pramod Mahajan as the assembly polls in Maharashtra are due and he is vital to its planning," the source said.

"Yes, there will be some changes. However, this is because the present team had been appointed on an ad hoc basis because the announcement of polls did not permit a complete restructuring," Naidu said. 

Apart from the central leadership, a revamp is very much on the cards in Uttar Pradesh.

While state unit president Vinay Katiyar is expected to retain his post, the entire team appointed during Kalraj Mishra's tenure would be changed. The fact that the BJP barely crossed the 10-seat figure mark this time is weighing heavily on the party.

The other states where the BJP will see a revamp include Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.

In Jharkhand, which was a former stronghold of the BJP, the party managed to win only one seat. "The changes in Jharkhand will be complete in June while in Orissa new office bearers will take over in July," the BJP source said.

Party general secretary Sanjay Joshi will, by the end of June, receive reports analysing the results in each state where the party had fought elections.