It may be remembered that several of the party’s chief ministers, including Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Mohan Charan Majhi (Odisha), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh) and Bhajan Lal Sharma (Rajasthan) were all under 60 when they were chosen for the post. The new young boss will be working with those young veterans
The BJP’s search for a new national president has culminated in the appointment of Bihar minister Nitin Nabin as its working president by the party’s parliamentary board. This marks the generational shift within the party, and hence a momentous decision. Once the party goes through the organisational motions and confirms him as the topmost office-bearer, Nabin, 45, will be the youngest president of the 45-year-old party.
The new BJP boss is ideologically rooted in the party, and has organisational and administrative experience not many of his age would command. The five-time legislator has been a member of the Bihar Cabinet twice. His grooming in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and his stint with the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP’s youth wing, point to his standing within the larger Sangh parivar. The organisational positions he held, including that of the party in-charge of Chhattisgarh, must have given him an inside view of the party organisation. The leadership must have taken into account his lack of experience in holding a national position while naming him for the working president’s post. The period under incumbent president J.P. Nadda should help him get an exposure to the challenges of the position.
The choice of Mr Nabin is perfectly in line with the party’s focus on identifying young leaders for senior and critical positions. It may be remembered that several of the party’s chief ministers, including Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Mohan Charan Majhi (Odisha), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh) and Bhajan Lal Sharma (Rajasthan) were all under 60 when they were chosen for the post. The new young boss will be working with those young veterans.
Unlike the BJP bosses in the past, the new working president has the experience of working in a coalition and under a chief minister who does not belong to his party. Bihar’s NDA is led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP gracefully accepted his leadership within the formation even though Mr Kumar’s party won fewer seats than the BJP in the Assembly election. This unique work experience could come in handy for Mr Nabin while negotiating with the several allies the BJP has in the NDA.
The choice of Mr Nabin is not only a pointer to the generational shift in helming the party but is also aimed at aligning the BJP with the aspirational class comprising the youth who form the bulk of the population. The appointment also reflects the BJP’s focus on capable leadership that can reap the demographic dividend in the electoral space.
The BJP is relatively a young party in India but has scored electoral victories that few others can claim. Its first generational shift, which happened in the last decade, was not all that smooth an affair but the party leadership appears to have taken abundant caution not to allow a repeat of the past. The new leader assumes charge at a time when the party has peaked in its performance at the hustings. His challenge will be to maintain the tempo and spread to the few areas which have not yet allowed the lotus to bloom. The BJP and the government it heads at the Centre have been widely charged with weakening the democratic institutions in the country, including the Constitution. Notwithstanding the objections, the Sangh Parivar has been pressing ahead with its agenda. One of the assignments of the new president will be to carry out the unfinished agenda. It is for history to judge how the young BJP chief helped the country’s journey as a democratic republic and meet its obligations to its people.
