JP Nadda’s tenure at the top of the Bharatiya Janata Party, stretching from his appointment as working president in June 2019 to his full term as national president from January 2020, is drawing to a close with the party set to hand over the reins to 45-year-old Nitin Nabin.
Nabin, who filed his nominations on Monday, will be formally declared elected on January 20, the same day Nadda was appointed as full time party president in 2020.
Nadda is currently handling the Union Health Ministry, a portfolio he held even during first term of Modi government. As an organisation man, he had won the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Nadda’s name even surfaced in 2014, when he was party general secretary, but the post went to another general secretary, Amit Shah. It was after Shah went to Modi cabinet as Home Minister that Nadda returned to organisation.
He took charge when the party was in intense consolidation mode and at a time when the pandemic had disrupted normal life. Since Nadda took charge, there have been 33 assembly elections, the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and even the Presidential and Vice Presidential polls. Among the assembly polls, the party recorded 19 victories, retaining its key states, while snatching Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from Congress. The biggest wins were in Odisha and Delhi, as party formed governments there. The surprise wins in Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, where the party was expecting a reversal signalled that its superior election management and focus on strengthening its grassroot outreach paid dividends.
There was a period in 2024 when Nadda’s statement on BJP’s reliance on its ideological parent, the RSS caused consternation in the saffron family. The BJP tally came down during the Lok Sabha, but the party managed to form government with the help of its allies.
This was also the era when the central government pushed some landmark legislations including the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, and was instrumental in building Ram Temple, the two of party’s biggest ideological agendas. The party president’s role was to keep the organisation fully aligned with the Centre’s push.
Before moving to national politics, Nadda served three terms as an MLA in Himachal Pradesh and held state cabinet portfolios including Health and Family Welfare, Parliamentary Affairs, and later Forest, Environment, Science and Technology. He entered the Rajya Sabha in 2012 and served on several parliamentary standing committees. He was Union Health Minister from 2014 to 2019 before being moved into the party’s top organisational role.
The BJP’s presidency has historically shaped the party’s political course. Atal Bihari Vajpayee led the party after its formation in 1980 and was instrumental in giving it initial shape and push. L.K. Advani’s multiple terms expanded the BJP’s mass mobilisation and national presence. Leaders such as Murli Manohar Joshi and Kushabhau Thakre focused on consolidation, while Venkaiah Naidu, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari steered the party through transitional phases.
Amit Shah’s tenure from 2014 to 2020 marked the period of the BJP’s sharpest national expansion. Since then party sharpened its cadre, built massive infrastructure across states, and honed its election template which it has been using to win elections and retain its political dominance.
Now, when Nitin Nabin takes over as the 12th person to become BJP chief, the party is focusing on preparing its leaders and cadre for next generation. Being the youngest party chief, Nitin Nabin will have a new organisational team with younger leaders.