Soft-spoken, affable and low-key, the newly elected BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda is a quintessential organisation man who is expected to consolidate the rapid gains the party has made under his predecessor Amit Shah.
He takes over at a time when the BJP is witnessing vigorous challenge from a united Opposition in Assembly elections amid signs that it needs to rejig its electoral strategy following a string of losses in State elections.
If a relatively inexperienced Shah in 2014 was seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hand-picked man to shake up the saffron organisation by easing out veterans and infusing young blood to galvanise party cadres and fuel its expansion drive, Nadda is considered a seasoned hand who will build on these gains without causing too many disruptions.
The 59-year-old Nadda, who holds a degree in law, brings decades of experience during which he served at key party posts, headed its election campaign in a host of States.