Nitin Nabin emerges as sole candidate for BJP president’s post, receives 37 nominations

Five-time Bihar legislator Nitin Nabin is set to be formally elected national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on January 20 after emerging as the sole candidate for the party’s top post on Monday.

A total of 37 sets of nomination papers were filed in his favour, each endorsed by senior party leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, outgoing BJP president JP Nadda, and chief ministers from several states such as Gujarat, Delhi and Chhattisgarh.

Announcing the development at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, returning officer K Laxman said all nomination papers were found to be valid after scrutiny.

“After the period of withdrawal, only one name — Nitin Nabin — has been proposed for the post of national president,” Laxman said.

He added that the election schedule was notified on January 16, with the electoral roll published the same day. The nomination process was completed between 2 pm and 4 pm on Monday, during which the 37 sets of papers were submitted in support of Nabin.

Among those who proposed and seconded his nomination were Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupendra Yadav, Kiren Rijiju and Hardeep Singh Puri, along with several other members of the BJP’s parliamentary party.

Laxman said the organisational election process began after the completion of elections for 30 of the party’s 36 state units. Under the BJP constitution, the election of the national president can commence once polls are held in at least 50 percent of the state units.

Nabin’s elevation marks a generational shift within the party, with leaders noting that he will be the youngest national president in the BJP’s history.

Senior leaders said the organisational election reflected the party’s internal democratic process. In a statement, the BJP said that while other parties were “confined to family-centric politics,” the BJP selects its leadership through a “transparent, participatory and democratic process from the booth level to the national level.”

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary described the development as “a moment of joy for Bihar and a historic day for the BJP.”

Former Union minister Anurag Thakur said Nabin’s selection sent a strong message to younger voters. “This is a big message from Prime Minister Modi to Gen Z, inviting them to join politics,” Thakur said, adding that the BJP would contest upcoming elections under Nabin’s leadership.