Nitin Nabin Takes Charge as BJP Chief; PM Calls Him a "Priceless Asset"

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with senior leaders, including former party presidents and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, accompanied Nitin Nabin as he took charge from his predecessor J.P. Nadda as the 12^th BJP president here on Tuesday.

“When it comes to party matters, mananiya (honourable) Nitin Nabin ji... I am a worker, and you are my boss…,” the Prime Minister said. “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.”

Modi offered Nabin a bouquet and congratulated his family which had come to participate in the ceremony. He also declared 45-year-old Nabin as a “millennial” with youthful energy and vast experience in the organisation, which will prove to be of immense help for the party.

“Every word of his will give us a new direction. His guidance will be a priceless asset that will chart our future course of action,” the Prime Minister said.

Nabin was declared BJP president at the party headquarters at the conclusion of the “Sanghatan Parv”, which saw elections to various party posts from the booth level to the national level.

Modi said the new BJP chief belonged to an era in which people heard the news on the radio in childhood and are now well-versed in using artificial intelligence. “Nitin ji has both youthful energy and a great deal of experience,” he said.

The Prime Minister urged BJP workers to learn from the mistakes committed by the Congress and not to repeat them. He said in 1984, the Congress had won more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections with more than 50 per cent of the votes. “Today, the Congress is yearning to cross the 100-seat mark,” the PM said.

“We have to save ourselves from these bad qualities. We have to ensure that we do not embrace these bad qualities. Wherever we have maintained distance from such qualities, we have emerged invincible,” Modi said.

Modi said the BJP conducts a dispassionate review of its performance even after winning elections and tries to improve in regions where it faces a loss. Citing the BJP’s recent victory in the civic elections in Maharashtra, the PM asserted that the party was not resting on its laurels but had started work on the next round of elections.

“The BJP is a tradition… a family… we value relationships more than membership. The BJP is such a tradition that functions not by a post but by process. Here, holding a post is an arrangement, and carrying out the work is a lifelong responsibility,” Modi said.

Hailing the BJP as a “living tradition”, Nabin said for the BJP politics was “not about power, it is a form of devotion”, and a responsibility towards the nation. Noting his election as BJP president is an “honour bestowed upon the extraordinary journey of an ordinary karyakarta”, Nabin asked people, especially the youth, to enter politics to fulfil Prime Minister Modi’s resolve of making India developed.

He assured party workers of due recognition of their work, saying the BJP’s “watchtower” is strong enough to take note of everyone’s efforts. He also asserted that under Modi’s leadership, the entire country “feels connected” to his government’s core mantra of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas”.

The new BJP president asked leaders and workers to make an all-out effort to ensure the BJP's success in the Assembly polls in five states, including West Bengal, to protect the “Sanatan traditions and faith” and the country from demographic changes.

Nabin, 45, is a five-time MLA from Bihar and was the minister for law and justice, urban development and housing in the state government before being appointed working president of the BJP on December 14.

The new BJP president said that discussions are happening on “demographic changes” in states ahead of the upcoming polls in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry… We have seen how things have changed there due to demographic changes, which is a challenge before us. But I am confident that with all strength, the BJP workers will provide a strong leadership in these five states with their struggle and hard work,” said Nabin.

He also took on the DMK, the Congress and other Opposition parties in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, while referring to the recent Karthigai Deepam row in Tamil Nadu. “Recently, we saw how attempts were made by the Opposition parties to stop Karthigai Deepam (lighting of the traditional lamp in Tamil Nadu) and impeach the judge (of Madurai high court). The Opposition parties also have a problem when we talk about Somnath and celebrating Sambhiman Parv… There is a need to defeat such forces that try to obstruct our traditions, deny the existence of Ram Setu and oppose Karthigai Deepam. We have to make efforts to ensure that these kinds of forces do not find any place in Indian politics,” he said.

Highlighting the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, Nabin said the very remembrance of Vande Mataram “fills the mind with energy and enthusiasm” and asked party workers to take it forward to everyone saying the national song is “that faith which is deeply connected with the nation’s journey of development.”

Praising Modi for making “power a medium of service” and continuously working for the country’ s development over the last 25 years first, Nabin said the PM is a “symbol of inspirational leadership” for BJP workers, including him.

“This leadership is a benchmark for every karyakarta of the party, from which everyone learns. The model of good governance that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has established before the entire country and the world, with the same model all state governments should also work, only then can the correct measure of development reach the last person,” the new BJP president told the gathering.