​Young and Nabin: On the BJP president

Nitin Nabin, born in 1980 and the youngest person to become the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was elected unopposed. Mr. Nabin is not closely linked to the party’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS); at present, his legitimacy largely arises from the faith reposed in him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. His selection is linked to Mr. Shah’s plans for the next general election, but larger considerations at play cannot be ignored. As a xennial, Mr. Nabin is leading the largest party in one of the world’s youngest countries. He began his political career through the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), and steadily rose through the BJP ranks. Elected five times as a Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from the Bankipur constituency in Patna, Mr. Nabin was also a State Minister. He held organisational positions in the BJP, overseeing its work in Chhattisgarh and Sikkim. He made a difference in both States and also won the confidence of party workers. A Kayastha from Bihar, he is known to be collegial. Within the deeply contested caste landscape of BJP strongholds, his social location and demeanour would be considered benign, which works to his advantage.

The BJP has been effecting a demographic transition in its leadership, and Mr. Nabin’s elevation marks a high point in that process. Mr. Nabin is from the Hindi heartland, where the BJP is already strong. Managing the strength of the party in its current strongholds while making it more acceptable to the peripheral regions of the country will have to be his priority. The party’s strategy of Hindu consolidation has not only saturated but is also creating a legion of unguided actors. The BJP is riding a tiger on the issue of communal politics, and Mr. Nabin has the unenviable challenge of disembarking from it. He was chosen President after several months of negotiations between the RSS and the BJP leadership, in which the BJP got the upper hand. The relationship between the RSS and the BJP requires delicate handling. The new President, like his predecessor, would follow the cue of Mr. Shah in organisational affairs, but he is still expected to maintain an aura of autonomy. He will be required to share credit for any success but own responsibility for any slip-up. As a young leader who potentially has several decades more of active politics ahead, Mr. Nabin must reassure his senior colleagues but cannot afford to end up becoming inconsequential in the process.