BJP revamp boosts youth, women roles, critics call it cosmetic

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday unveiled a major organisational reshuffle under national president Nitin Nabin, appointing new office-bearers that the party says increase youth and women representation. The Hindu reports that the new team includes six women as vice presidents and Smriti Irani as general secretary, marking her comeback after her 2024 Lok Sabha defeat from Amethi. Ram Madhav and Satish Poonia, both leaders with strong Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ties, have also been brought back into the national leadership.

However, thefederal.com argues the revamp is a "clever stratagem of statistics." It notes that while six women are vice presidents, the party expanded the number of vice presidents from 11 to 13, with five of the earlier set already being women. The outlet says the vice president post is largely ornamental. It also points out that Irani is the only woman among nine general secretaries, up from seven with no women earlier. The youngest person in the top three tiers remains Nabin himself at 45.

Hindustan Times reports the changes signal an attempt to balance ideological continuity with generational change ahead of state assembly elections. The party has replaced controversial IT cell head Amit Malviya with Deepak Mhaske to refresh its social media strategy. The new team includes younger faces and leaders with organisational experience like former chief ministers Vasundhara Raje, Tirath Singh Rawat and Biplab Deb, alongside RSS-affiliated appointees to underscore party-Sangh unity.