Amit Shah says will not quit as party chief

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Monday ruled out the speculation that he might quit as the party chief to join the Cabinet.

Shah, who’s set to debut in the Rajya Sabha on August 8, said he was working “happily” and “wholeheartedly” for the party.

The BJP strictly adheres to a one man, one post rule. Previous party presidents have had to quit once they were sworn in as ministers, the latest being Home Minister Rajnath Singh in 2014. Shah had succeeded Singh as the party chief.

With Shah set to enter the Upper House from Gujarat and a Cabinet reshuffle in the offing, it was speculated that he might be included in the Cabinet. Some of the key portfolios, including defence and environment ministries, are currently being managed as additional charge by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan, respectively.  Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Shah said his party had no role in the breaking up of the Grand Alliance in Bihar. On a question about him quitting as the party chief, Shah said: "There is no question of doing so. I have the responsibility of being the party president. I am happy, and I am working wholeheartedly. You people (media) please do not push.”

In 2019, Shah said, the BJP would win with a bigger mandate than 2014 on the basis of development and good governance of the Narendra Modi government, as well as the 13 state governments of the party. Shah said the government had “succeeded in ending the politics of family, caste and appeasement in the country”. The previous Manmohan Singh-led government suffered from “policy paralysis”, he said. “Every minister assumed himself to be the PM, and no one considered him (Manmohan Singh) as the PM.”