- 5 weeks ago
In a significant political development, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed Bihar leader Nitin Naveen as its new National Working President, signaling a major generational shift within the party's leadership. Naveen, a 45-year-old, five-time MLA from Bankipur, Bihar, and son of late leader Naveen Kishore Sinha, assumes the crucial role while J.P. Nadda continues as President. This strategic appointment is viewed as part of the BJP's preparation for future elections, emphasizing the promotion of younger leaders with strong organizational skills and grassroots origins. The move has been described by political analyst Manisha Priyam as a 'victory of the gully boys' nurtured by Amit Shah. An India Today special report, anchored by Preeti Choudhry and featuring insights from Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai and other reporters, delves into Naveen's rise and the BJP's 'high command' culture.
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00:00I want to cut across to our reporters, our editors, who are joining us from Bihar, and they know a thing or two more about Nitin Nabeen than I, and especially even Rajdeep, who spent so many, so many elections and who's watched and studied politics for so long.
00:15I have Shashi Bhushan, Sujit Jha, Rohit Singh, who worked very closely with Nitin Nabeen. My colleague Aishwarya Paliwal, who's been tracking the BJP, was equally surprised yesterday when the name of Nitin Nabeen was announced. Himanshu Mishra also joining us from the BJP, who thought in the beginning that maybe this was, you know, the name announced for the Bihar Party president and not the national president.
00:39We have Neerja Chowdhury as well, and Manisha Priyam, and we have Sujit Jha. I want to cut across to Sujit Jha first.
00:48Sujit, if you have a voice, there is a Bihar's vote, Nitin Nabeen, five times MLA, but did anyone think that he was going to be a party president, a working president?
01:09Sujit Jha.
01:39Sujit Jha.
02:09Sujit Jha.
02:39It's a generational shift, it's a generational change, and in fact, it's a youth face.
02:50Because now you can say that you are 55-60 years old.
02:53So, Jeetji, one more question. When I called you to give a phone, what did you say?
03:00Yes.
03:18I want to go back to Rajdeep, but before I do that, I want to quickly pull in my colleague
03:38Aishwarya Paliwal, who was here yesterday.
03:40We were all in office, actually.
03:41And when the news broke, Aishwarya, tell me honestly with hand on your heart, did you
03:46also not for a minute think who is Nitin Nabeen and what's the inside dope?
03:51Because what we do know is J.P.
03:54Nadda is going to continue as president.
03:56Nitin Nabeen takes over as working president and word has it.
04:00Now, we don't know how true that word is because really we don't know what goes on in the BJP
04:04that come January, February, Nitin Nabeen will take the place of J.P.
04:08Nadda.
04:08Well, you know, Preeti, this is something which we are understanding at this point of
04:16time.
04:16You know, just take a look at the way in which people have actually come.
04:20All of them have flower petals in their hands.
04:22And these posters, you know, Prem will show you the poster also.
04:25These kind of posters where you have Nitin Nabeen along with J.P.
04:28Nadda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, these posters have been put up across the national
04:32capital.
04:32So this is something which is giving you a little bit of a hint of what is to come come
04:362026.
04:38And also, let me tell you, yes, I was surprised because, you know, this is not a name that
04:42we were hearing.
04:43But then this is an art that BJP has mastered over the past many, many years.
04:47The names that often do the rounds, except Rekha Gupta, because she is someone whose name
04:52actually had started doing rounds 48 hours before the official announcement.
04:56But that was the only time when, you know, there was a name that was doing rounds.
04:59And she, in fact, became the chief minister of the national capital.
05:02But apart from that, we have seen how the BJP has mastered the art of keeping the cards
05:06very, very close to their hearts.
05:08But let me also tell you, you know, we are hearing that he was immediately called and
05:13said that, you know, he needs to take over.
05:14That, Preeti, is not true from what I am understanding.
05:17At the BJP headquarters, just a couple of days back, there were some people who had met
05:21Nitin Nabeen.
05:22And there was a crucial meeting that took place.
05:24And from what I understand, Preeti, you know, in just a couple of minutes from now, we
05:27will see the cavalcade coming in.
05:28It will be the Delhi chief minister, Rekha Gupta, who will, along with the Delhi MPs,
05:32be coming in.
05:33And then we will see the official process taking place at the BJP headquarters.
05:37Preeti.
05:38All right.
05:39You know, we're going to come back to my colleague, Aishwarya, who's at the BJP headquarters.
05:43But Aishwarya, you know, keep that window open.
05:45Show us the top leadership of the BJP, the biggest spokespersons, all lining up.
05:50And Rajdeep, you know, I want to bring you in and cut across to Neerja and Manisha Priyam
05:53Ji after that.
05:55You know, this is what the BJP is.
05:56In a way, it's superb.
05:58Who would have known?
05:59And this is what they say, that a Karyakarta can actually rise to the post of the BJP party
06:04president.
06:05Suddenly at the back, you have these hoardings where, along with the Prime Minister Modi,
06:11with Amit Shah, the Home Minister, with J.P.
06:14Nadda Ji, you actually have an equally bigger picture of a Nitin Nabeen.
06:19Now, this is surrender pity where politics is concerned.
06:24No, look, it only shows that the BJP is the party with the real high command.
06:28You see, for decades, the Congress was seen to have the high command.
06:31If you look at the kind of people Indira Gandhi would appoint.
06:34I'm in Maharashtra today.
06:35There's a famous instance of how Baba Sahib Bhosle was overnight appointed the chief minister
06:40of Maharashtra.
06:40Most of the journalists struggled to put a profile together of Baba Sahib Bhosle because
06:44they didn't know enough to actually put a profile in the next morning's newspaper.
06:49When you have a high command, then you can do what you want.
06:52Let's keep that in mind.
06:54It's not as if this is because a Nitin Nabeen can be made today without any opposition.
07:00A Gujarat cabinet can be changed overnight without any opposition.
07:04A Mohan Yadav can be put above many other senior leaders in Madhya Pradesh without opposition.
07:10A Bhajan Lal Sharma can be made chief minister in Rajasthan without any opposition putting
07:15Vasundha Rajayi aside.
07:17A Pushkar Dhami can be plucked out out of relative anonymity and made the chief minister.
07:22So can a Nayib Saini.
07:23Why?
07:24Because you have a high command.
07:26Please understand that.
07:27These decisions are taken because the BJP also today has a high command.
07:31They could do it 25 years ago when they were principally a party of the opposition.
07:35The Congress is just the opposite today.
07:37The Congress today cannot appoint someone.
07:39There is no high command.
07:41But, and a strong high command that can actually affect change and also accommodate the ones
07:45that they have slighted.
07:47You know, that is the virtue of having a strong high command.
07:50But juxtapose it, Rajdi, because today you will have quite a few who will say the Congress
07:54did have the same opportunity.
07:56The fact that the Congress is suffering today at multiple levels is because it was an opportunity
08:01missed.
08:02Well, it was, you are absolutely right at one level, but you've also got to recognize that
08:09the Congress is bigger.
08:10Look at what happened with the Congress when they wanted to make Ashok Gelot.
08:14Ashok Gelot was to be made the president of the Congress.
08:16He said, no.
08:17Could that have ever happened in the times of Indira Gandhi?
08:20That a party leader, a regional chieftain could have come to the so-called high command
08:25and said, sorry, I'm not going to become the party president.
08:29That's the big change that has taken place in Indian politics is all I'm saying.
08:33That the center of gravity of Indian politics has shifted to the BJP.
08:37And the BJP also now has a high command culture where no one can challenge the authority of
08:42Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
08:44Anyone whom they had chosen would have been accepted right down the line.
08:47You had asked me earlier, who controls the show, RSS or BJP?
08:50I still believe when it comes to party issues, it is Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister
08:55Amit Shah who run the show.
08:57There can be a veto right at best that RSS could have in a few instances, but the main
09:02control, the levers of power are with the Gujarat Jodi number one.
09:07That's not the case with the Congress, which is why the Congress is so heavily dependent
09:11also on this family centric politics.
09:14And thereby, you could argue, has not been able to nurture or promote that kind of younger
09:20leadership without opposition?
09:21Why could they not make a Sachin Pilate, for example, a face in Rajasthan or earlier Jyothi
09:26Raditya and Madhya Pradesh?
09:27Because they could not handle the older guard.
09:30True.
09:31And, you know, Rajdeep, many would also say that these changes could have been effected
09:35or brought in, you know, at a time where the Congress was strong in the UPA for one
09:39years, UPA two years, where you actually blooded in the next line of generation, which you
09:43didn't.
09:44All you did was you created a coterie from the ones that were already there and they got the
09:50plump post.
09:50This is just an argument.
09:51I want to bring in Neerja Choudhury back into this conversation.
09:54No, no, no.
09:54Just very quickly, ma'am.
09:56Make your point.
09:56Just very quickly, before you go, just to say, remember in UPA two, Milind Deora, Sachin
10:02Pilate, Jitin Prasad, RP and Singh, all of them were made union ministers, many of them
10:08in their 30s and early 40s.
10:09Okay.
10:09Because that time you had posts available, ministerial portfolios.
10:14Today, what will the Congress give anyone who's young?
10:17Either you then dramatically tell the old guard enough is enough and we are completely moving
10:22to a new guard.
10:24But, you know, no, fair point.
10:25Fair point.
10:25But you also continued to give in under the pressures of a Kamal Naath.
10:29You continued to give in under the pressures of your other senior leaders.
10:33You did that.
10:33See, in hindsight, everything, you know, in hindsight, it seems that, you know, the Congress
10:38could have affected, you know, all these changes when they were in power.
10:42But that's the beauty of hindsight.
10:44I want to cut across to Neerja Choudhury and Manisha Priyam and we'll go back to our reporters
10:48and Rajdeep Sardisai.
10:49But to bring you in, Neerja, how do you see the change which has been affected, seen as
10:53a big generational shift for the BJP?
10:56What's your opinion?
10:59Preeti, let me just tell you something that happened last week.
11:03With a colleague, a journalistic colleague, I was seeing a senior minister of the government,
11:08BJP, and we were joking that the indication was that the announcement would come very soon.
11:16And we were joking, would we have to surf the Google to know more about the person?
11:24And he smiled widely and indicated that might be the case.
11:29Now, that is the way it's turned out.
11:31It is part of a new model that the BJP is putting in place.
11:36As they say, the senior leaders, that the party now is virtually on autopilot.
11:44It doesn't matter who will lead it because it's so strong that it will continue to function effectively.
11:50And I think the leadership change that we've seen in the states, chief ministers who were brought in in 2023,
12:01and Nitin Naveen is part of that line, you know, pick up unknown people.
12:07In his case, he has huge experience, five-time MLA, experience of administration, party work, and so on.
12:14So, he's not a raw hand in that sense.
12:17Obviously, the control of the party and much of the government system today, of course, there is Prime Minister Modi at the helm of affairs,
12:29as far as being Prime Minister.
12:32But the control essentially lies with Amit Shah.
12:38And I think this is his team that we are now seeing put in place.
12:42Of course, the RSS has had a hand in it.
12:45RSS has obviously given the go-ahead.
12:47Greenlit, yeah.
12:47And just one word, you know, on the youth part, he is a young person.
12:57A young person need not necessarily have an appeal for the young.
13:03You know, people have asked about Mr. Karge at 84.
13:08Why does he continue?
13:09Why doesn't he give it to somebody younger?
13:11But the party, Congress party today is helmed by Rahul Gandhi, much younger than Narendra Modi.
13:18And yet, Mr. Modi has an appeal to the young.
13:21So, that argument goes up to a point as far as bringing energy and maybe ideas to...
13:27But he's got longevity for sure.
13:30Longevity for sure.
13:31Longevity for sure, absolutely.
13:33They plan to be there openly talking about power for the next 20, 30 years.
13:36Exactly.
13:37And I think the power of the high command, why the BJP jory, as Rajiv has said,
13:43the first political jory of India today, Prime Minister Modi and Namit Shah,
13:49they have traction because they are winning elections.
13:53The Congress high command does not have traction because they are not winning elections.
13:57It's all to do about elections, nothing more.
14:00Okay, I want to cut across to Manisha Priyam and then we'll go back to Rohit Singh who's also been with us.
14:07Rohit, just two minutes more of patience.
14:09I want to bring in Manisha Priyam ji.
14:11Manisha Priyam ji, I think unlike Neerja Choudhury, you would have had a fairer idea on who Nitin Nabeen was.
14:18He's the son of late Nabeen Kishore Sinha, comes in from Bihar.
14:22How do you view this appointment?
14:23What is the importance of picking Nitin Nabeen?
14:26Or do you think an organizational man, you know, there's not much thought,
14:30but thought in terms of getting in a younger man, generational shift, you know,
14:34somebody which both the RSS and the BJP were able to?
14:39So I would say this is clearly now the party affairs which are being guided by the kind of victory
14:48that Mr. Ramit Shah and his team have been able to get for Narendra Modi-led BJP.
14:57That's how I would put it.
14:59I would say nothing about the RSS, but let me just tell you and remind you
15:04that the big Kaya leader and the family of the RSS
15:08is actually the late Sri Thakur Prasad, whose son is Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad.
15:14So Nitin Nabeen really represents sunset for many old models of politics.
15:19First and foremost, Nitin Nabeen's nomination represents a victory of the gully boys
15:25that Amit Shah had been nurturing as a new carder for the party, putting Sushil Modi by the side.
15:32These gully boys were revving up for, you know, having a non-Nitish Kumar-led government in 2020,
15:41but they also supported the political efforts of the party in Bihar and elsewhere.
15:48So do not—I mean, one of those things Rajdeep pointed out, but remember also,
15:54even in Karnataka elections, for example, the gully boys and Nitin Nabeen,
15:58all of them have had very important roles.
16:00It was one of those who I cannot name right now who had hinted to me even during the elections
16:05that aap dekhiyega Nitin Nabeen, and I knew the hints were there.
16:10But the fact is that nobody could have imagined it would be the party president's post.
16:14It also represents the fact that, remember, Bihar has been nurtured by none other than
16:20Dharmendra Pradhan for a very long time, and I believe very much that we have a party president
16:26who is a young president, obviously doesn't have the acumen or experience to run an entire
16:33national party of the BJP, but he would have the fire of working on instructions, and I feel
16:40there is a strong organizational political team behind him, and Nitin Nabeen is very
16:47used to working with that team.
16:49So as Nitin Nabeen takes over its victory to the Patna Gali boys, who kept up the politics,
16:55anti-Lalu, who kept up the politics, had some discomfort with the late Sushil Modiji also,
17:01but also kept up the anti-Nitish.
17:03Now, in one stroke, Bihar is a huge victory.
17:06I think the other important part is that for long, Amit Shah has tried politics in the
17:12North India region by locating himself within Uttar Pradesh for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections
17:19with Shri Sunil Bansal, it was said.
17:23That's the big state he got.
17:25But for a long time there, the politics of Thakurwa, there's been a stalemate.
17:30Keshav Dev Maurya and the Kushwaha card has not given them as many benefits.
17:34Now, Bihar represents something far more significant, away from the politics of the
17:39clashing upper caste, the Bhumihars and the Rajputs, who are known as Thakurs elsewhere.
17:45The Amit Shah-led BJP, Dharmend Padan-advised party carders have now moved to the Kayas caste,
17:53which is not numerically large, but follows instructions, does organizational work.
17:58And this caste is actually very deeply entrenched now in supporting the BJP.
18:06So, I believe very much that professional upper middle class going there.
18:13Remember also that Nitin Naveen represents not just a young generation, of course a young
18:19generation, of course his being young matters.
18:22Because I know there are many MLA's who won the election this time, who in 2014 were just
18:28doing parchees, etc.
18:30We saw them as workers who do the day's affairs for the bigger leaders.
18:35It's now time for the workers to come over.
18:38Nitin Naveen is very, very close to a lot of them.
18:41So, a lot of new energy in Bihar.
18:43North Indian politics, Amit Shah style.
18:45And, of course, a strong organizational team, led by Amit Shah now, that will control the
18:51party affairs of the BJP.
18:54Well, an interesting terminology that you've come up with, and I think it would be used
18:57gully boys of Amit Shah, and Nitin Naveen being one of those.
19:01It's a fun term.
19:03I want to cut across to Rohit, who's tracked the Bihar elections very, very closely.
19:08Rohit, what is the math behind this?
19:11Well, yes, that remains the big question as to why Nitin Naveen has been chosen.
19:19A kaiist face from Bihar, and the kaiist voters in Bihar, just about 0.6 percent, the population,
19:25in fact, is just 0.6 percent.
19:27So, clearly goes on to show that caste cannot be a factor here to choose Nitin Naveen to lead
19:34the party as the working president.
19:36So, what goes in favor of Nitin Naveen is basically his organizational skills that he
19:43has honed up in the last, in fact, 20 years.
19:46He has been MLA for the last 20 years.
19:49He has served as a minister also in the Nitish Kumar government in various capacities, has
19:54also been the general secretary of the Yuva Morcha for about six years.
19:59And he has also led the Yuva Morcha in Bihar.
20:01He was the state president of the Yuva Morcha in Bihar also.
20:04So, he has a great deal of experience as far as running the organization is concerned.
20:09And he has already displayed his credentials as far as the Chhattisgarh elections are concerned,
20:14where he was in charge of the Chhattisgarh elections, and how emphatically BJP won there.
20:20So, everything goes in favor of Nitin Naveen.
20:24And what is very more important, particularly more important, is the fact that he is a non-controversial
20:30face as far as Bihar is concerned.
20:31He has been moving around the country as far as when he was with the Yuva Morcha, but
20:38he has been a non-controversial face and never fell in any controversy.
20:43You never saw him giving any kind of heated, any kind of bites or sound bites heated in
20:50nature.
20:50And more importantly, is the fact that he is very calm, polite.
20:55And whenever he talks to people, he only calls them bhaiya, ji bhaiya, haan bhaiya.
21:00So, that's the kind of nature that Nitin Naveen has.
21:05And now, I think that this has gone in favor of him, basically his organizational skills,
21:11that the BJP top brass has chosen him to run the party in the near future.
21:17And the starting has been made by making him the working president of the party.
21:21Back to you.
21:21In all probability, what is being, you know, speculated, again, it's all in the realms of
21:25speculation that he will take over completely from J.P. Nanda come January and for February.
21:32J.P. Nanda continues to be party president, but there's a new working party president there.
21:36So, clearly, that generational shift, the passing of Baton will happen early.
21:41Next day, I want to cut across to Himanshu Mishra, who's been covering the BJP for many seasons.
21:45Himanshu, what's behind him, what's behind him, you can understand.
21:49But now, there were so many names, Himanshu, Dharmedra Pratham, M.L. Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Dupendh Yadav.
21:57It's been a little bad for them. You've followed them all.
22:01But what's happening in the world? Why Nitin Naveen?
22:06You're on mute, Manshu.
22:12Prithi, I think that nobody will lose any of this, because the party's decision, the decision that
22:18makes the decision, that makes the decision, makes the decision. And that's the only reason.
22:21I have also said that you have to say, look, Bajan Lacharva, Mohan Yadav, Vijay Mahji,
22:30Yeah, Vishnu Radev, Devan Fadvis
22:33Hey Manshu, I am waiting for you for one minute.
22:36And that's why I am waiting for you.
22:38Because the headquarter of Bhajpa, there are visuals coming.
22:42Because these are visuals that are coming in.
22:45You can see, you know, how things change overnight.
22:48And this is, you know, destiny, whatever you might want to call it.
22:53Kismet, overnight.
22:55Nitin Nabeen possibly on some other afternoon at the BJP headquarters
23:00would have been somebody who would have been lining up
23:02and showering flower petals on the BJP's top leadership
23:07while he is bang in the middle.
23:09Everyone trying to get a piece of him.
23:11And just look at those visuals there.
23:13Nitin Nabeen making his way where many top leaders,
23:17you can actually see spokespersons, other leaders,
23:20showering flower petals on him.
23:22Also, somewhere down the line, testimony to the belief of the BJP
23:25that even a career karta can be picked up and made and elevated
23:29to the position of party president or prime minister.
23:32But spectacular visuals coming in from the BJP headquarter.
23:37Over to you, Imanchu.
23:39You are hearing from the Kinsey's office,
23:41because he is seeing the destiny.
23:43You are seeing the future,
23:44the destiny,
23:45Until this night, Nitin Nabeen was not here.
23:47You already gave the photo of the J.P. Nedda and Amit Shah.
23:49Thank you very much.
24:19Thank you very much.
26:57For the audience.
26:59expect the unexpected you're right there you know i'm running out of time i want to take
27:09quick comments i want to bring in nirja chowdhury into this conversation nirja chowdhury you know
27:12this is classic bjp and i would reckon this is political destiny uh you know the visuals that
27:18are coming in of course we're going to play this show later we've recorded this show in the afternoon
27:21uh we're going to play it later on but uh you have the top leadership of the bjpp ush goel anil
27:27baluni uh you know the other big leaders all coming in uh you know bowing down to nitin nabeen so
27:33also messaging is so important in this nirja chowdhury the sheer fact that it doesn't matter
27:39who you are it's the position and the party that is uh you know prime yes you know this is absolutely
27:45right you have a powerful high command out there in the jodi amit shah and prime minister modi
27:53and you have at the same time what i would call tariakartization of the bjp
27:59you are very important for us so this is one thing the other thing we must not forget is bihar
28:07it's a clear message to bihar bihar is a dream project of a bjp to lead a government there
28:16and i think very soon they may put a succession plan in place in bihar and it is kumar's health is
28:23not good they may keep him going for a while and then who takes over having the national president of
28:28the bjp from bihar is very important signal third is the choice of a caste now caste is a very small
28:36community amongst the upper caste but they are the para lita community the community to which the
28:41bureaucrats belong and run the show and somewhere there has been a restlessness in a section of the
28:47upper caste despite the support to the bjp you know things of too much of talk of obc and power
28:53moving to obcs and ebcs and so on and they've not felt so important and i think this is also a
29:01significant message going to them you are very important for us well you're right messaging is
29:06everything i'll give the final word to rohit my colleague who tracks the bjp and like i said in
29:11the beginning some of us uh you know uh no a thing or two more about bihar and rohit is one of them
29:17uh rohit uh what neerja was saying now in all probability there is already a succession plan
29:24in place in bihar keeping in mind nitish uh kumar's health
29:29well absolutely that is a fact that nitish kumar's health has always been a cause of concern for the
29:37last year or so and that is why when this time also nitish kumar has become the chief minister
29:42there's already speculations going on that he will be the cm for how long six months one year
29:48one and a half years then what happens next will nitish kumar pass on the beta into the bjp
29:53will he come out in front of the media and make a public
29:56and a declaration that okay now i have maybe i'm 75 76 i'm not keeping well so i will be transferring
30:02the power to the bjp then who will be the chief minister of bihar when bjp comes to power when bjp
30:09starts running the show samrath chaudhri could possibly be one of the face because the manner
30:14in which i'd say you shouldn't say it it could very well be a parchi and somebody who sat in the
30:20last row you know through all the pictures which have been taken of the party's leadership in bihar
30:24i put my money on that person absolutely that is a possibility which nobody can think of that
30:32what bjp will do but as of now what we are seeing and thinking is that samrath chaudhri is being
30:37elevated and he is being promoted in the government you see how for the first time in 20 years the home
30:42ministry has gone from nitish kumar to samrath chaudhri so samrath chaudhri's stature is also being
30:47in fact being elevated so there is a possible succession plan which is going on as far as the
30:54bihar government is concerned as far as bihar is concerned and youngsters being given a chance see
30:58samrath chaudhri only 57 years of age at this point of time and surprises of surprise nitin nabeen 45
31:05years old young young man the youngest youngest bjp party president ever uh if he you know of course
31:12the youngest working party president of the bjp in all probability come january february he could
31:17very well be the youngest party president i appreciate you joining us rohit uh thank you
31:21nirja chaudhri and all other uh panelists on this show we're going to leave it at that we're going to
31:26leave it uh with the visuals on your television screen you know this is how quickly uh you know
31:31life changes in a blink uh till about yesterday nitin nabeen was somebody who was completely in the
31:37background uh and today don't just look at the image of nitin nabeen being received by the top
31:43leadership of the bjp and other big leaders of the bharatia jantha party the posters there as big
31:49his picture as that of the home minister amit shah jp nada who's still the party president uh a new
31:56working president in place a bigger message that the cadre of the bjp is most important uh those who
32:02work for the party most important party and position is supreme not individuals they're going to leave
32:09it at that thank you for joining us
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