BJP set to launch membership drive

New Delhi, June 13: The ruling Bharataiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to launch its membership drive as the party begins the process for its organisational polls, which may lead to the election of its current president Amit Shah's successor, sources said on Thursday.

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is also a vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is likely to head the membership drive and will be assisted by several officer-bearers of the saffron party.

Shah is holding a meeting of the BJP's national office-bearers, which is being attended by the general secretaries and presidents of the party's state units.

Amit Shah, whose three-year term as BJP chief had ended in January, was asked to continue in the position as the party had put on hold organisational elections to focus on the Lok Sabha polls. The 2-day meeting may also discuss appointment of new state presidents in some states.

The exercise to finish organisational polls will take at least four months and as such the national president in place of Shah may be elected by December. Convention is to elect the president by consensus and he then appoints the national office-bearers.