DC Edit| Fresh Start For BJP With A Young Working Chief
The BJP’s search for a new national president has culminated in Bihar minister Nitin Nabin being appointed as its working president by the party’s parliamentary board. This points to a generational change within the party and therefore a very important decision. Nabin, 45, will become the party’s youngest president after the party takes organizational initiatives and confirms him as the top official.
The new BJP boss is ideologically committed to the party and has organizational and administrative experience that many of his peers may not have. The five-time legislator was a member of the Bihar Cabinet twice. His training in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and his tenure in the BJP’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, point to his standing in the larger Sangh parivar. The organizational 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 when nominating him for the post of working president. The period under incumbent president JP Nadda should have helped him discover the challenges of the position.
Mr. Nabin’s selection is perfectly in line with the party’s focus on identifying young leaders for senior and critical positions. It may be recalled that many 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 below 60 years of age when they were elected to office. The new young boss will work with these young veterans.
Unlike past BJP bosses, the new running president has experience working in a coalition and under a prime minister who does not belong to his own party. Bihar’s NDA is led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and although Mr. Kumar’s party won fewer seats than the BJP in the Assembly elections, the BJP has graciously accepted his leadership in the formation. This unique business experience may come in handy for Mr. Nabin as he negotiates with the BJP’s various NDA allies.
Mr. Nabin’s election not only marks a generational change in the party’s leadership but also aims to align the BJP with the aspiring class of youth that constitutes the bulk of the population. The appointment also reflects the BJP’s focus on capable leadership that can deliver demographic dividends in the electoral arena.
The BJP is a relatively young party in India, but it has achieved electoral victories that few can claim. The first generational change in the past decade has not been such a smooth affair, but the party leadership appears to be very careful not to let the past repeat itself. The new leader takes over at a time when the party’s electoral performance is at its peak. His task will be to maintain the tempo and expand into the few areas that have not yet allowed the lotus flower to bloom. The BJP and the government it heads at the Center are accused of weakening democratic institutions in the country, including the Constitution. Despite the objections, the Sangh Parivar continues to push its agenda. One of the duties 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 in its journey to become a democratic republic and fulfill its obligations to its people.
