The election of a 45-year-old ‘youth’ as president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the nation’s strongest political entity running governments in 19 states, sends out the right signals to a spectrum dominated by ageing men. This, in a nation where some 65 per cent of the people are below the age of 35, and the average age of an Indian is 29 years. Old leaders hang on to positions in their parties and government, rejecting a chance for reinvention and rejuvenation.
The BJP, despite its questionable ideological orientations and resort to religion as a campaign plank, has its softer sides. Unlike the Congress, it has a broader leadership base cutting across regions and communities, though the minorities and Dalits are fewer in this lineup. Dynasty spirit is mostly not evident in this party and its principal leaders are drawn from diverse regions. The Congress party has, in recent times, installed a senior leader from the South as its president, a post normally reserved for the Nehru-Gandhi family. Yet, palpably, the family calls all the shots. A better sense of democracy is evident in the BJP even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds an overarching influence over the organisation, which is balanced by the RSS influence from outside. Five-time legislator from Bihar, Nitin Nabin, who was installed in the post in the national capital on Tuesday, is not a known face to most people. He’s the youngest president for the party, the 12th in a row, and obviously has patronage from both the PM and home minister Amit Shah. The RSS’ nod was a prerequisite. Outgoing president, JP Nadda, who also holds the health and fertilizers portfolios in the Modi ministry, had completed the two terms spanning six years. Nadda jelled well with both Shah, the previous president, and Modi. He however lacked the clout of Amit Shah in the party chief’s role. Perceptions were that Shah and Modi remote controlled him in the presidential chair. Be that as it may, the BJP kept winning most elections during his term. A dampener was the 2024 parliament polls, where the BJP and its allies failed to muster a majority in the Lok Sabha. Modi could form and run the government only with backing from the JDU of Bihar and TDP of Andhra Pradesh. Fact is, the BJP does not have much of an organisational heft across states; a weakness that was so far made up by the mass support Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoyed at a personal level. When Modi’s stock started falling, this affected the BJP’s electoral prospects in 2024. The BJP managed to retain power as there was no strong anti-incumbency mood.
Obviously, the BJP is targeting the young generation for its future sustenance and growth. On the other side of the political spectrum, Rahul Gandhi at age 55 is young as well. So is Priyanka Gandhi. Among the other senior politicians, many are in the 70s or 60s and some in the 80s, like Kharge. Nitin Nabin is thus the odd leader out. Yet, he’s not so young to capture the fancy of the youth.
