New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI): BJP President Amit Shah, under whom the membership of the party grew rapidly and it formed governments in several states, was today elected unopposed as its chief for a second term.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and virtually the entire top party brass, including a number of Union ministers and chief ministers, proposed his name during the nomination process in which no other leader joined the fray.
Altogether, 17 nominations were filed proposing 51-year-old Shah's name during the three-hour exercise, Party Vice President Avinash Rai Khanna said as he announced his unopposed election.
The election of Shah was merely a formality after it became clear that Modi and other party bigwigs, besides RSS, which has always had a say in the nomimation for the top party job, preferred his continuance.
This will be the first full three-year term for the Gujarat leader, seen to have full backing of Modi, as he had taken over as the party chief in May 2014 after his predecessor Rajnath Singh joined the goverment.
Modi, Rajnath hail Amit Shah's election
New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Amit Shah's election as the BJP president on Sunday, saying the party "will scale newer heights under his leadership".
"Congratulations to Amit Shah on being elected BJP president," Modi tweeted. "I am confident the party will scale newer heights under his leadership.
"Amit bhai combines grassroot-level work and rich organizational experience which will benefit the party immensely," Modi added.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday congratulated BJP president Amit Shah on his re-election and said he was sure the party will reach "newer heights of success" under him.
"Heartiest congratulations to Amit Shah on his re-election as the BJP national president," the former Bharatiya Janata Party president tweeted.
"He has been an extremely successful party president," he said of Amit Shah, a confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I am confident that the BJP will continue its forward march under Amit Shah's stewardship and reach to newer heights of success and glory," the home minister said.