Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Nitin Nabin will take over as BJP national president on Tuesday after emerging, as widely expected, as the sole candidate in fray, with the party’s leading figures from PM Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues and CMs, besides hundreds of electors from across country, endorsing his choice for the top organisational job.Modi, who signed the nomination paper in Nabin’s support but was not physically present at party headquarters Monday, is expected to be there when he formally assumes office. Other senior members, including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh and CMs Yogi Adityanath, Mohan Yadav and Nayab Saini, turned up at the venue to be part of the set-piece occasion.
K Laxman, party MP and returning officer for the poll, said after nomination process that Nabin is the only contestant in fray. In BJP’s history since its foundation in 1980, its president has always been a consensus choice and never faced electoral contest. A formal announcement of his elevation is scheduled for Tuesday.“I announce that only one name, that of Nitin Nabin, has been proposed for post of national president of BJP,” he said. Nabin (45), currently BJP working president and fifth-term MLA from Bihar, will take over the mantle from JP Nadda six years after the Himachal politician had taken up the position. Nabin will be its youngest-ever president.All 36 organisational states of BJP were part of the nomination-filing process besides its parliamentary party, which included Modi and Shah among others in what was seen a display of wide support for Nabin. Laxman said all 37 sets of nomination were found valid.Ministers and state presidents were seen patiently waiting for their state’s turn — an alphabetical order was followed for different units, to file their nomination in support of Nabin’s candidature. Nabin is expected to preside over his first formal meeting with office bearers in a couple of days.BJP’s Anurag Thakur said election of a young president conveys Modi’s call to Gez Z to be part of politics. Modi and BJP have shown they practice what they preach, he added.
