Nitin Nabin takes charge as BJP president: What's at stake for PM Modi's 'boss' in party

NEW DELHI: Nitin Nabin, who formally took charge as the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party today, has his task cut out for him. His immediate challenge are the assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The BJP has a lot at stake in this round of elections as it defends its government in Assam and Puducherry and goes all-out to wrest power from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the BJP is trying hard to expand its base.

2027 will be another busy year electorally for the BJP president as seven states, including Uttar Pradesh, will vote to elect new assemblies. The other six are: Gujarat, Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal and Manipur.

Chhattisgarh, a state which played a key role in giving prominence to Nitin Nabin, will vote in 2028 along with eight other states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya. Nitin Nabin was the party in charge in Chhattisgarh in the 2022 assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

And finally, 2029 will see the BJP under Nitin Nabin go all out for a record fourth consecutive victory in the general elections.

The five-time Bihar MLA, who is widely recognised for his organisational acumen and administrative experience, will play a key role in anchoring the BJP's election efforts.

More than the opposition parties, his toughest competition will come from his predecessors in the party who have led the party to great electoral successes since 2014.

With coalitions becoming an integral part of today’s politics, Nitin Nabin will also have to play an important role in working with the party’s regional allies in different states.



The appointment of 45-year-old Nitin marks a generational shift in the BJP’s leadership role and has been hailed by all the party leaders. However, for Nitin Nabin, this comes as a challenge as he faces the difficult task of managing the many senior leaders who have decades of experience and some of whom were hopeful of getting the coveted top BJP post.

While on the one hand he would want to use their experience to the hilt, on the other hand he would have to ensure to keep them all in good humour for the smooth functioning of the party.

BJP's first millennial chief
For Nitin Nabin, the youth and Gen Z outreach will be both personal and political. Nabin has become the first millennial born post-Emergency president of the BJP.

Thus, he must make fresh attempts to connect with Gen Z voters born after 1997, a voter base critical in upcoming assembly elections. This outreach will also test whether the BJP’s "25-year vision" resonates with young voters to be converted into election polls or not.

Soon after assuming the party president post, he appealed to the youth to enter politics to fulfil PM Modi's resolve of making India developed.

"On August 15, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called upon the country's youth to enter public life. I want to ask the country's youth that keeping distance from politics is not the solution but making active contributions," he said.

"At the same time, I would also like to point out to the youths that there is no shortcut in politics. Politics is not a 100-metre race but a marathon where one's stamina and not speed is tested. Come forward and let's work on this political pitch keeping our roots strong," he added.



Politics not a position of authority, it is responsibility
In his address after taking charge, Nabin said that this day is "a moment of resolve" for him, as he is not just assuming a post but also the "ideology, traditions, and the responsibility of a nationalist movement of the party".

"We are associated with such a political party, where politics is not power, it is spiritual practice, not indulgence, but sacrifice. It is not luxury and comfort, it is austerity. Politics is not a position of authority, it is responsibility," Nabin said.

He asked party leaders and workers to make an all-out effort to ensure the BJP's success in the upcoming assembly polls in five states, including West Bengal, to protect the "Sanatan traditions and faith" and the country from demographic changes.


PM Modi leads party in congratulating Nabin
PM Modi led the party in congratulating Nitin Nabin and said, "To put it in the language of today's youth, Nitin ji himself is, in a way, a millennial." He elaborated that 45-year-old Nabin belongs to a generation that has witnessed major economic, social and technological transformations, saying, "He belongs to the generation that received information from the radio in their childhood and is now an active user of AI."

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." He expressed confidence that Nitin Nabin would carry forward the party's legacy, adding, "At the beginning of this crucial period, our Nitin Nabin ji will carry forward the legacy of the BJP."

Stressing on Nabin’s important role ahead, PM Modi said: "When it is about the party, Nitin Nabin is the boss, and I am a party worker. Now Honourable Nitin Nabin ji 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."

Congress mocks BJP’s election process
However, the Congress was quick to mock the BJP’s election process. The ruling party announced the president first and then stated that there would be an election, but there was none, the Congress said.
The opposition party also took a dig at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying he is unhappy as he did not get anything to "manipulate" in this process.

"Gyanesh Kumar wants to resign in protest; he has no role, he can't even influence, he can't even manipulate anything," the Congress' media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, said while targeting the CEC, whom the opposition party has been attacking over alleged irregularities in elections.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore claimed that key decisions in the BJP are taken only by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.

"There is no democracy in the BJP, only HM Amit Shah and PM Modi take 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," he said.

Congress ally Rashtriya Janata Dal also criticised the BJP, with MP Manoj Jha saying, "Don’t call it an election... an election is only called when there are two or more choices. Nevertheless, he has become the national president, and I extend my best wishes to him."

Nabin’s rise in BJP
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 elected from the Bankipur assembly constituency in 2010, 2015, 2020, and 2025, thereby becoming a five-time MLA. He has held key portfolios like road construction, urban development & housing and law in the Bihar government as a cabinet minister.

Nabin’s soft demeanour, which may have played a key role in his elevation as BJP president, will be put to the ultimate test as he navigates the complexities of his new role.

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