Union Health Minister during the first term of the NDA government, JP Nadda, might succeed Amit Shah as the next BJP president, according to reports. It has been speculated for a while that Shah will be a member of the cabinet during Narendra Modi’s second term as Prime Minister, Nadda’s appointment as the president of the party is perhaps the biggest hint towards it.
Nadda is expected to work closely with Shah even after the latter quits as the party president. He was the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha Elections where the BJP secured a thumping 62 seats against the formidable alliance of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Jagat Prakash Nadda is from the state of Himachal Pradesh, though he was born and brought up in Patna, and studied there up to his graduation, where his father was a professor, and later became VC of Patna University. He was also active in ABVP in his student days.
During his tenure as Union Health Minister, Nadda oversaw the implementation of the ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme, believed to be critical towards securing support for Narendra Modi among people from economically weaker backgrounds. He also carried forwards Narendra Modi’s desire to have an AIIMS in every state and has set up institutes in various states.
Immunization of children and mothers against vaccine-preventable diseases, an app which shows the live status of blood availability across all blood banks of the country, free dialysis program for patients in PPP mode and free comprehensive and quality antenatal care to all pregnant women are some of his other stellar achievements as Union Health Minister.
The BJP, however, is yet to confirm anything officially. The Prime Minister and the Union Cabinet will take oath tomorrow at the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises.