Nitin Nabin appointed BJP national working president, succeeds JP Nadda

In a surprising move, the ruling BJP is known for, the party on Sunday appointed Bihar Minister Nitin Nabin as the party’s national

working president.

The BJP Parliamentary board picked Nabin for the post until the process of the new full-time party chief is done to replace incumbent Union Minister JP Nadda. Similarly party also announced Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary’s name as the new president of the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit, who replaced Bhupendra Chaudhary.

Party sources said Nabin was rewarded for exuding greater confidence as the person in charge of the Chhattisgarh BJP Assembly elections. He had consistently maintained to the top leadership that the party would sweep the Assembly polls.“Bharatiya Janata Party’s parliamentary board has appointed Nitin Nabin, a minister in the Bihar Government, the BJP national working president with immediate effect,” BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said in a notification.

Nabin, 45, who belongs to the Kayastha community, is likely to succeed incumbent BJP chief JP Nadda and is one of the youngest leaders to occupy the post.

He has served as a minister in the Bihar Government multiple times and is a five-time MLA. At present, he is the PWD minister in Bihar and MLA from Bankipur in Patna.Nadda was appointed the BJP President in January 2020 and has already completed his full term. He was granted extensions to lead the party through the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Congratulating Nabin on his appointment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has distinguished himself as a “hardworking Karyakarta” and expressed confidence that his energy and dedication will strengthen the party.“He is a young and industrious leader with rich organisational experience and has an impressive record as MLA as well as Minister in Bihar for multiple terms. He has diligently worked to fulfil people’s aspirations. He is known for his humble nature and grounded style of working. I am confident that his energy and dedication will strengthen our Party in the times to come.

Congratulations to him on becoming the BJP National Working President,” PM Narendra Modi said on social media. Earlier in the day, Chaudhary’s announcement as UP BJP chief by Union Minister Piyush Goyal was made in the presence of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak. Pankaj Chaudhary will be the 17th chief of UP BJP.

Yogi Adityanath said Pankaj Chaudhary’s election to the BJP’s State president’s post would give fresh momentum to the party and the Government in the State. The chief minister exhorted party workers to strengthen the organisation at the booth level for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, and make full use of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He described the exercise as an opportunity to “strengthen democracy”. He said large gaps had emerged in the voter list following the revision.

Chaudhary had filed his nomination for the post on Saturday and was the sole candidate in the fray. Goyal presented Pankaj Chaudhary with his certificate of election. At the programme, Sangathan Parv, Goyal called the BJP the world’s largest political organisation, and said the global community is astonished by its disciplined and democratic functioning.

Goyal also announced the names of the party’s newly elected national council members, whose numbers ran up to 120, and included Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi represents Varanasi, while Adityanath represents Gorakhpur. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is from Lucknow, Maurya from Prayagraj, and Pathak from Unnao.

Other members of the national council include Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary (Sambhal), Smriti Irani (Sultanpur), Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey (Varanasi), Surya Pratap Shahi (Salempur), Swatantra Dev Singh (Banda), and Dr Ramapati Ram Tripathi (Gorakhpur).

A seven-time Lok Sabha MP from the Maharajganj constituency, Pankaj Chaudhary, belongs to the Kurmi community, categorised under Other Backwards Classes (OBC). He is considered a close confidant of Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Maurya said the 2027 UP Assembly election is the next major challenge for the party and asserted that the BJP would secure an overwhelming victory under Chaudhary’s leadership.