Behind Nitin Nabin’s elevation to top BJP : New upper caste face, Bihar calculus

Any possible deeper import of Shah’s visit to a relatively lesser-known BJP minister was then not known to anyone in the state party circles, sources said.

Subsequently, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Patna on his way to attend an election rally, several BJP leaders, including Nabin, lined up at the airport to receive him. After acknowledging the greetings of some party leaders at the front of the queue, the PM stopped where Nabin stood and had a word with him. Not much was read into it even then.

Nabin also played a key role in organising Modi’s rally in Madhubani in the Mithilanchal region.

After the NDA swept the elections, winning 202 of the state’s 243 seats as against the Opposition Mahagathbandhan’s 35, Nabin – who won his Bankipur seat for fourth consecutive term by about 52,000 votes – was assigned the charge of overseeing the arrangements for Nitish Kumar’s swearing-in as the CM for a record 10th time at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. A section of the BJP leaders then felt that in the new NDA ministry, he may replace party colleague Vijay Kumar Sinha, also from the upper caste like him, as the second deputy CM. However, during the oath-taking event it became clear that both BJP leaders, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, have retained their posts as Nitish’s deputies.

Nabin was also retained in the new Nitish Cabinet and allotted the Road Construction ministry. He had earlier held portfolios like Law and Justice as well as Urban Development and Housing.

On Sunday, when the BJP Parliamentary Board named Nabin as the party’s national working president, some Bihar BJP leaders initially “misunderstood” that it could be Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, said a party insider. “Several of us first also thought that Nitin Nabin has actually been appointed Bihar BJP working president with state party chief Dilip Jaiswal having become a minister,” said the party insider.

However, the BJP high command has chosen to make a decisive generational shift by elevating Nabin to the position of the party’s national working president.

While Union Health Minister J P Nadda remains the BJP’s national president currently, party sources said Nabin could be named his successor in January with the move to be endorsed later at the party’s National Council meeting.

Nabin’s journey

The youngest to occupy the top organisational post, five-time MLA Nabin will be at the helm of the party as it heads into crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Assam in 2026.

The son of the late BJP legislator Nabin Kishore Sinha, Nitin Nabin belongs to the upper caste Kayastha community, who is known for his organisational and administrative skills and his “easy accessibility” among common party workers.

BJP leaders said Nabin enjoys the confidence of both PM Modi and Shah. The RSS was also keen on the party promoting a young leader and Nabin would be an acceptable choice for it, said a leader.

Starting his political innings with the RSS’ student wing ABVP, he displayed his organisational capability when he was the national general secretary of the BJP’s youth wing BJYM.

However, Nabin impressed the BJP central leadership as the party co-incharge of the November 2023 Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, when it pulled off a surprise win by beating the incumbent Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress.

The next year, he was appointed the BJP in-charge of the Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh, which the party swept in the state. In July 2024, he was named the party in-charge of the state. A Chhattisgarh BJP leader said, “Nabin played a leading role in strategising and campaigning for these polls, which helped the party to win them smoothly.”

BJP’s game plan

While the BJP is known for springing surprises, Nabin’s elevation could be part of its long-term plan to build up its key leader in Bihar. A senior Bihar BJP leader told The Indian Express: “Nitin Nabin’s elevation catapults him to top position. He would instantly find himself ahead of all senior Bihar BJP leaders. Once he proves his organisational skills in the upcoming Assembly elections in some key states next year, he would further cement his position as a national party leader. And as and when there is power transfer between the BJP and the JD (U), Nitin Nabin could even emerge as the party’s face.”

Another state BJP leader said: “In the last five years, the BJP has experimented with leaders like Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi (ex-deputy CMs) as well as Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. Besides them, Union minister Nityanand Rai has also been positioning himself as an aspirant for the CM’s post. Among these leaders, Nitin Nabin may appear as a low-profile leader but with a very good acceptability among party colleagues, workers and even among JD (U) leaders including CM Nitish Kumar”.

Nabin is the first Kayastha leader from Bihar who has risen to the BJP’s top organisational role in recent decades. It is being seen in state party circles as a bid to “maintain social balance”, even as the Kayastha group makes up less than 1% population of the state.

On his part, Nabin started his day in Patna Monday with visiting Mahavir temple and offering respects to his late father at Rajbanshi Nagar park. He then told reporters: “My endeavour would be to make the party sarvavyapi (omnipresent) and sarvasparshi (all-encompassing). I have come to pay tributes to my father. I also had the darshan at Mahavir Mandir, which fills us with energy. I will begin the journey ahead with the blessings of my father.”

— With inputs from Jayprakash S Naidu in Raipur