New Delhi (PTI): Nitin Nabin is set to become the BJP national president as he emerged as the sole candidate for the top party post, senior BJP leader and returning officer K Laxman announced on Monday.

In a statement, he said 37 sets of nomination papers were filed in favour of Nabin as the BJP national president and all nomination papers were found to be valid.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the proposers of Nabin's candidature for the post of BJP national president. Several senior BJP leaders including party chief J P Nadda, and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari were among the proposers.

Laxman said according to the schedule, the nomination process for the BJP national president was completed between 2 pm and 4 pm on Monday.

"In all, 37 sets of nomination papers were received in favour of Shri Nitin Nabin for the post of national president. On scrutiny, all sets of nomination papers were found to be duly filled out in the required format and were valid.

"Now, after the period of withdrawal, in my capacity of national returning officer, Sangathan Parv, Bharatiya Janata Party, I hereby announce that only one name, that of Shri Nitin Nabin, has been proposed for the post of national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party," Laxman said in a statement.

He said the BJP national president's election process was initiated after the election of 30 state presidents out of 36 states, well above the required number for completing a minimum of 50 per cent of the states.

He said the notification of the schedule of events was announced and the electoral roll was published on January 16.

Of 37 sets of nomination papers, 36 were from states which bore the signatures of 20 leaders in each set of papers.

The other set of nomination papers was proposed by members of the BJP Parliamentary Board, including the prime minister, and 37 MPs.

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Bijapur (PTI): A 20-year-old man was killed after a pressure Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred on Sunday when the victim, Aayta Kuhrami, a resident of Kasturipad village under Usoor police station area, had gone to a nearby forest, a police official said. 

He inadvertently came in contact with the pressure IED, which exploded, causing injuries to his legs. The man succumbed to his injuries while being shifted to the hospital, the official said. 

Security personnel have launched a search in the area to check if more IEDs were planted there, he said.

The official appealed to villagers to exercise extreme caution while going into forests and remote areas and asked them to immediately report any suspicious objects, activities, or materials to the nearest police station or security camp. 

Maoists often plant IEDs on dirt tracks to target security personnel who use such routes during anti-Naxal operations inside forests. Civilians have also fallen prey to such traps laid by ultras in the Bastar region comprising seven districts, including Bijapur, police said.

On January 5, a 15-year-old boy was injured when a pressure IED planted by Naxalites went off in the district. 

As many as 46 persons lost their lives in Maoist violence, including pressure IED blasts, in the Bastar region last year.