The forthcoming election of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national president is set to introduce a subtle yet historically significant change within the party’s internal processes. BJP national working president Nitin Nabin is expected to be elected unopposed as the party’s new national president on January 20, with no indication that any other contender will enter the race.
While the leadership transition itself appears routine, the election marks an unprecedented moment in the BJP’s history. For the first time since the party’s establishment in 1980, two of its tallest stalwarts—Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi—will not be part of the voter list for the presidential election. This represents a clear departure from every previous such election, in which both leaders had consistently figured as voters.
The exclusion of Advani and Joshi is not political but procedural, stemming from the status of pending organisational elections in Delhi, the unit from which they currently serve as national council members. Traditionally, Advani was associated with Gujarat as a national council member during his tenure as the Gandhinagar Member of Parliament, while Joshi represented Uttar Pradesh when he served as the Kanpur MP. After their withdrawal from active parliamentary politics, both leaders were designated as council members from Delhi and were later inducted into the BJP’s Margdarshak Mandal, a body comprising senior leaders who provide guidance and ideological direction to the party.
Under the BJP’s organisational constitution, the selection of national and state council members can take place only after the completion of internal organisational elections at various levels, including booth, mandal, district and state units. In addition, the rules stipulate that organisational elections must be completed in more than half of the states before the process of electing the national president can formally begin. At present, such elections are still pending in Karnataka, Haryana, Tripura and Delhi. Due to this procedural requirement, Advani and Joshi could not be included in the voter list for the presidential election.
On Friday, the BJP formally announced the schedule for the election of its national president. According to the timeline, nominations for the post will be filed on January 19, with the election outcome and the name of the new party chief to be declared the following day, January 20.
At 45 years of age, Nitin Nabin is set to take over from outgoing party president JP Nadda. Party sources indicate that Nabin’s candidature has the full backing of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, reflecting a strong consensus within the party’s top leadership. His ascent closely mirrors that of Nadda, who was appointed national working president in June 2019 and later elected unopposed as BJP president on January 20, 2020, succeeding Shah.
Nitin Nabin is the son of late BJP leader and former MLA Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha and currently represents the Bankipur assembly constituency in Bihar. He has served twice as a minister in the Bihar state government and is widely regarded as an organisation-focused leader with deep roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Within the party, he is seen as ideologically grounded and administratively capable, with his elevation symbolising a generational transition in the BJP’s top leadership and a gradual shift from its founding figures to a newer cohort of leaders.
