PATNA: The search for a new Bihar BJP president has begun after the induction of incumbent Dilip Kumar Jaiswal into the Nitish Kumar cabinet as a minister.

Jaiswal, a member of the legislative council, will have to step down as party chief under the ‘one person, one post’ policy.

Sources within the BJP said senior leaders have already begun discussions on a new state president after Jaiswal was made a minister from the BJP quota.

A senior leader, who camped in Bihar throughout the election, has been reportedly tasked to select the names of probable candidates for the post.

Three names will be selected and sent to the central leadership, a senior BJP leader said.

Janak Ram, a former minister, is among the Dalit leaders whose name is doing the rounds for the state president’s post. Ram, a turncoat, is now a prominent Dalit face of BJP in Bihar.

Before joining BJP in 2013, he was associated with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Ram also served as a minister in the previous NDA government and also served as an MP from Gopalganj. He might be considered for the state president’s post as Dalits constitute nearly 20 per cent of the state’s population.