The newly elected BJP national president, Nitin Nabin, met the party’s Bengal chief, Samik Bhattacharya, in Delhi on Wednesday to discuss election preparations in the state, indicating that the youngest-ever party chief would focus extensively on poll-bound Bengal.
A BJP source said Nabin, 45, who took charge as the party’s national president on Tuesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, was likely to visit Bengal in January-end to review the party's organisation and poll preparations.
“The meeting between Nabin ji, Samik da and general secretary (organisation) Amitava Chakraborty assumes significance ahead of Bengal polls. If there is no last-minute change, the national president will visit Bengal on January 27 and 28,” said a senior BJP leader in Calcutta.
The state BJP leadership believes Nabin’s role will be crucial ahead of the Assembly elections for several reasons.
First, in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Nabin played a key role under the supervision of Amit Shah. The BJP-led NDA registered a landslide victory in Bihar, the first state to go to polls after the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
“In Bengal, SIR has emerged as a major issue. Since the new national president has experience in conducting post-SIR elections in Bihar, he will guide the party on a fresh campaign strategy on why the SIR was mandatory to prevent Bengal's demography from changing. During his maiden speech as national chief, he hinted at demographic shifts in Bengal — a line emphasised by Amit Shah during his visit to the state in 2025-end,” said a BJP leader.
Born on May 23, 1980, Nabin entered politics following the untimely demise of his father, Naveen Kishore Prasad Sinha, a sitting MLA from Patna West, and won the bypoll there in 2006. A four-term MLA from Bihar’s Bankipur, Nabin is known as a key policy-maker close to Amit Shah, who is also spearheading the Bengal election strategy. The party has projected Nabin as a leader to connect with the youth.
“Nabin ji’s leadership is vital for Bengal, where unemployment among youth is high, and the Trinamool government faces charges of corruption in recruitment.... As the youngest party president, we believe he will steer the BJP in the right direction to appeal to young voters...,” said BJP state general secretary Locket Chatterjee, also the chief of the party’s Mahila Morcha here.
A BJP source said Nabin, a Kayastha, was an influential leader within the community with a vital presence in academic, administrative and professional sectors. While caste politics, integral to Bihar, has no direct parallel in Bengal, the source noted that identity politics had been taking shape in the state since the 2021 elections.
“Although caste equations do not dominate Bengal politics, Nabin can guide party leaders in reaching out to the educated middle-class population, among whom Brahmins and Kayasthas form a good chunk,” said a senior BJP leader.
Trinamool dismissed the BJP’s claims, asserting that Nabin’s leadership would not benefit the party in Bengal as it lacks grassroots connection and a chief ministerial face.
“We have Mamata Banerjee. Who does the BJP have? Nabin’s predecessor, J.P. Nadda, made similar efforts in Bengal after the BJP’s Bihar victory in 2020. We all know the result of the 2021 Assembly polls. The BJP has already been rejected by the people of Bengal just like in earlier polls,” said Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty.