PM welcomes Nitin Nabin as BJP chief, flags party unity and security issues

PM Modi welcomed Nitin Nabin as BJP's youngest national president, calling him his boss in party matters while flagging generational change, illegal immigration and governance challenges

In a sign of a generational shift in the party, 45-year-old Nitin Nabin on Tuesday took charge as Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) youngest-ever national president, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming the Bihar legislator as a “millennial” who will be his boss in matters related to the party.

 

“I, too, as a party worker, was giving an account of my work to the new president. I have given an account of my work. He will now write my CR (confidential report). I am awaiting his guidance,” Modi said, as he elaborated upon his government’s schemes and policies.

 

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

 

Modi said the new BJP chief belongs to an era in which people used to listen to the news on the radio and are now well-versed in using Artificial Intelligence. “Nitin ji has both youthful energy and a great deal of experience,” he said.

 

In his 40-minute speech at the BJP’s national headquarters, the PM alluded to the fact that Nabin was born just a few weeks after the BJP was founded in April 1980, and that the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the earlier avatar of the BJP, will mark the 75th year of its founding this year. Jana Sangh was founded in October of 1951.

 

Acknowledging illegal immigration as a major threat to national security, the PM said that “ghuspaithiye” (illegal immigrants) must be identified and sent back to their respective countries. He also spoke of demographic imbalance because of illegal immigrants and “urban Naxals” as major challenges before the nation.

 

In his address, Nabin exhorted the youth to join politics. He said party workers should rest assured that the BJP's “watchtower” will take note of their hard work.

 

Nabin, the 12th national president of the BJP, urged party workers to ensure the BJP's success in the upcoming assembly polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry to protect the “Sanatan traditions and faith”. He said “demographic changes” are afoot in some of these poll bound states.

 

In a reference to some of the western countries deporting illegal immigrants, Modi said wealthy and powerful nations of the world were identifying and deporting illegal immigrants, and nobody was questioning their actions. He asked party workers to “unmask” political parties shielding illegal immigrants. Modi said for years, the BJP was isolated and treated as untouchable, but claimed the country is now recognising these tactics.

 

The event was attended by senior leaders, including former party chiefs Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah, and J P Nadda, along with Union ministers, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, and scores of party workers.

 

The PM asked party workers to learn from the mistakes of the Congress party, which had won more than 400 seats in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections with almost 50 per cent vote share, but today struggles to reach the 100-seat mark, which, he said, was because the party and the workers are devoted to one dynasty.

 

The PM pointed to the BJP’s recent wins in the Maharashtra civic polls, where, he said, the party organisation has started working for the next round of elections, and not rested on its success. He said the BJP began its political journey as “a party with a difference” and over the years has emerged as a party of good governance.

 

“The country has seen various models of governance after independence, the Congress' model of dynastic politics, the Left's model, the model of regional parties, and the era of unstable governments. But today, the country is witnessing the BJP's development model, one marked by stability, good governance, and sensitivity,” the prime minister said.