With nationwide backing, Nitin Nabin set to become BJP’s consensus 12th president

New Delhi, Jan 19: Bharatiya Janata Party set the ball rolling for the election of its new president with top party leaders submitting nomination papers of Nitin Nabin, the party's 45-year-old working president, for the post on Monday.

BJP president J P Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over a set of Nabin's nomination papers to K Laxman, the Returning Officer for the election, in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and senior leaders Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupendra Yadav and Kiren Rijiju.

Later, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and other state leaders submitted another set of nomination papers in support of Nabin, who was appointed as the working president last month.

Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Nayab Singh Saini and Pramod Sawant were also present on the occasion. Leaders from Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Jharkhand and other states also submitted nomination papers in support of Nabin.

Nominations could be withdrawn between 5 pm and 6 pm on Monday, following which the Returning Officer is scheduled to issue a statement at 6.30 pm.

Nabin is likely to be elected unopposed as the BJP's 12th national president, with top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, backing his candidature.

The BJP national president is elected by an electoral college comprising representatives from the party's national council and state councils, with the process overseen by its national returning officer.

According to the BJP's constitution, any 20 members of the electoral college of a state can jointly propose the name of a person, who has been an active member for four terms and has 15 years of membership, for the post of the national president.

However, such a joint proposal should come from not less than five states where elections have been completed for the national council, it stipulates.

A five-time MLA from Bihar, Nabin has long been recognised for his organisational acumen. He has served as in-charge for states such as Chhattisgarh and played a pivotal role in forging alliances.

Since assuming charge as working president, he has concentrated on preparations for upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry.

His elevation is widely seen as a move that injects youthful dynamism into the BJP’s leadership while ensuring continuity with its ideological and organisational foundations.

With inputs from agencies