Bihar propels Pradhan into BJP’s top power circle

Bihar campaign success elevates Dharmendra Pradhan’s profile within BJP leadership circles.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA

Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s stewardship of the NDA’s Bihar campaign has emerged as one of the most consequential political stories within the BJP this year, not just for the victory it delivered but for the questions it has triggered inside the party’s top ranks.

The sweep in Bihar has now sparked a new debate both in Patna and Delhi: whether Pradhan’s performance positions him as a contender to replace J.P, Nadda as the next national president of the BPP.

Within the party, electoral success in a politically complex state carries significant weight, and Pradhan’s campaign style — grounded, inclusive, organisationally sharp — has placed him in the conversation in a way that cannot be dismissed as speculation.

His appointment as Bihar election in-charge last September was initially read through the familiar lens of caste arithmetic, with many assuming the party had chosen him largely because of his OBC identity.