NEW DELHI:  Five-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Nitin Naveen assumed office as the saffron party’s new national president on Tuesday (January 20). Although Naveen was elected unopposed, both the new BJP president and Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the democratic process of choosing the party chief.
Despite being a political scion himself, Naveen praised the BJP, saying it is the only party where “one doesn’t need to belong to a particular family to hold big positions and responsibilities.” Despite his political lineage, the 45-year-old Naveen, who is the youngest president of the party, said in his first statement as BJP president that becoming the party president is “an honor bestowed upon an ordinary worker’s extraordinary journey and unwavering commitment to service.” Naveen’s father, Naveen Kishore Sinha, was a BJP MLA. Naveen’s rise is seen as a strategic move to bring young leadership into the party organization while maintaining continuity.
He said, “The BJP is the only party in the country where one doesn’t need to belong to a particular family to hold big positions and responsibilities. In this organization, a person from an ordinary family can become the Prime Minister of the country, and an ordinary worker can reach a position of responsibility like the national president.”Naveen was made the BJP chief in the presence of Prime Minister Modi, former party presidents Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, and Rajnath Singh at the party headquarters. Despite being elected unopposed, Modi said the election was conducted “100% democratically.”
In an attempt to demonstrate the authority of the new BJP president, Modi said in his speech that Naveen is his “boss” and referred to himself as an ordinary party worker. However, the Prime Minister’s speech lasted 49 minutes, while the new president spoke for only 20 minutes. Modi said, “When it comes to party matters, Nitin Naveen is my boss, and I am just a worker.” Nabin repeatedly mentioned Modi in his speech, saying that his slogan “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” (Together with all, development for all) is being realized through actions such as the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir by BJP workers.
“By transforming governance into service, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a source of inspiration and a benchmark for new workers like me – first in Gujarat and now at the Centre – for the last 25 years. Nabin’s elevation follows the Modi-Shah template of consolidating power in their own hands. This template includes silencing other leaders, not promoting second-rung leadership, and making relatively unknown faces chief ministers – as seen in Madhya Pradesh (Mohan Yadav), Chhattisgarh (Vishnu Deo Sai), and Odisha (Mohan Majhi). Nabin’s predecessor, Nadda, was also elected unopposed in 2020.
Although Nadda’s term was extended by more than 18 months, the delay in appointing a new president was due to internal factionalism in different states. Differences between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Modi-led BJP over the next set of national office-bearers further delayed the decision.
The BJP’s national president was elected during an organizational program (Sangathan Parv) at the party headquarters, making him the youngest leader to hold this position. Addressing the gathering, Nabin said, “Today, first of all, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You have given an ordinary worker like me the opportunity to attain this prestigious position in the party.”
“We are associated with a political party where politics is not about power, but about service; not about enjoyment, but about sacrifice. It is not about luxury and comfort, but about penance,” Nabin said. “This day is a moment of resolve for me. Today, I am not just taking on a position, but also the responsibility of this party’s ideology, traditions, and a nationalist movement.” The new BJP chief recalled the time when PM Modi abrogated Article 370, saying, “The atmosphere in Kashmir has changed, and today the tricolor flag proudly flies in every corner of Kashmir.” He further added, “We work with the philosophy of ‘Nation first, party second, and self last’.”

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