New Delhi [India], January 20 : Nitin Nabin on Tuesday assumed the charge as the 12th and youngest National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Elected unopposed, Nabin will chair his first office bearers meeting on Wednesday at the party headquarters in the national capital.
Nitin Nabin has assumed charge of the ruling party at a crucial juncture, where the BJP is looking forward to winning the five upcoming state elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam, and Kerala. The new BJP chief is set to review the party's strategy and programs for these crucial polls in the meeting. The meeting will also focus on organisational development and other key initiatives.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for Nitin Nabin's tenure, calling him the "boss" and referring to himself as a mere party worker. Addressing a gathering at the BJP headquarters in the national captial PM Modi congratulated Nabin on being elected president of what he described as the world's largest political party and said his responsibility goes beyond managing the BJP.
"When it is about the party, Nitin Nabin is the boss, and I am a party worker. Now Nitin Nabin is the president of all of us, and his responsibility is not just to manage the BJP, but also to ensure coordination among all NDA allies," the Prime Minister said.
Highlighting the importance of the coming decades, PM Modi said, "The next 25 years are very important. This is the period when a developed India is to be built, and it is destined to happen."
As Nitin Nabin becomes the youngest party chief, PM Modi highlighted a generational shift within the party. The Prime Minister said, "To put it in the language of today's youth, Nitin ji himself is, in a way, a millennial. He belongs to the generation that received information from the radio in their childhood and is now an active user of AI."
As JP Nadda handed over the baton to Nabin, he expressed confidence in his leadership, stating that the BJP will grow stronger and "make the lotus bloom" in states like West Bengal, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Kerala.
In his address at the party headquarters, Nadda said, "You (Nitin Nabin) have taken on the responsibility as the 12th National President of such a great party. Many congratulations and best wishes to you. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and the chairmanship of Nitin Nabin, the Bharatiya Janata Party will bloom the lotus in Bengal in the coming times. We will form the government in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. We will return to power in Assam, and we will deliver good results in Kerala as well. We are moving forward with this confidence."
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari were also present on this occassion.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav and other BJP leaders congratulated Nitin Nabin.
While the BJP leader distributed sweets at the headquarters, party workers and supporters burst crackers in Bankipur to mark the beginning of Nabin's leadership era. Similar celebratory visuals were seen outside Nitin Nabin's residence in Patna.
Nitin Nabin said he is not just taking up a position, but embracing the ideology, traditions, and the responsibility of a nationalist movement of the party. He expressed gratitude to senior leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the collective effort of 140 crore Indians working towards a developed India.
At the party headquarters, Nabin said, "Today's moment is a moment of resolve for me. Today, I am not just assuming a position. I am accepting the ideology, traditions, and the responsibility of a nationalist movement of this party, and on this occasion, I also pay my respects to all my senior colleagues...Today, 140 crore Indians are connecting themselves with the dream of a developed India and are working to take the country forward. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister for this."
However, Opposition leaders flagged a lack of electoral process in the BJP. Congress MP Manickam Tagore launched a sharp attack, alleging that the BJP lacks internal democracy and is run in an authoritative manner.
"There is no democracy in the BJP, only HM Amit Shah and PM Modi make the decisions, and they have proved it again... What is the work of the returning officer when there is no election? We hold elections in Congress, and Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor were candidates, and voting took place. This is called democracy. PM Modi and Amit Shah want to take over the role of all the workers... BJP is an authoritative party and moving towards dictatorship," the Congress MP said.
On similar lines, RJD MP Manoj Jha stated, "It is the party's internal matter, but there was nothing like an electoral process in all of this. Whatever happened was pre-decided... Congratulations to him."
Taking a jibe at the BJP, Maharashtra Congress leader Nana Patole called for a younger Prime Minister for the country after the BJP got its youngest national chief.
"Will Nabin also amplify former President JP Nadda's remarks that the BJP does not need the RSS? We congratulate him on his new role. Just like he is young as the national president. We should be getting a younger Prime Minister as well," he said.
Nabin, a senior Indian politician, is a five-time member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly and former Minister in the government of Bihar. He is widely recognised for his sustained organisational acumen and administrative experience.
Born on May 23, 1980, in Jharkhand's Ranchi, Nabin entered electoral politics at a young age and was first elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 2006 from the Patna West Assembly Constituency. Since 2010, Nabin has been consecutively elected from the Bankipur Assembly Constituency, securing victories in 2010, 2015, 2020, and 2025, thereby becoming a five-time MLA. He has also held key portfolios like Road Construction, Urban Development & Housing and Law in the Bihar Government as a Cabinet Minister.
The five upcoming state assembly polls will be a test for the BJP's Nitin Nabin era after the party recorded a historic win in his own state, Bihar, last year. Among the five states, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, the BJP is yet to breach the frontiers.