The BJP leadership on Sunday appointed the young and relatively low-profile Bihar minister Nitin Nabin as the party’s national working president, a surprise elevation that seemed to underscore the iron grip Narendra Modi and Amit Shah wielded over the organisation.

The 45-year-old Nabin, a five-time MLA and currently the road construction minister in the Nitish Kumar government, is set to succeed J.P. Nadda as the BJP national president.

His appointment was notified hours after junior Union finance minister Pankaj Chaudhary — widely seen as a Modi-Shah loyalist and a political rival to chief minister Yogi Adityanath — was formally anointed in Lucknow as president of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit.

The selection of the heartland unit’s chief had been delayed for months amid an undeclared but intense power struggle between Adityanath and Shah for control of the organisation.

With the battle for the politically most crucial state now won, Modi and Shah moved swiftly to settle the question of national leadership.

Nabin’s appointment represented a stunning elevation for a junior leader, party insiders said.

Shortly after the party’s highest decision-making body, the parliamentary board, made the appointment, Prime Minister Modi put his stamp of approval on the decision.

“Shri Nitin Nabin Ji has distinguished himself as a hardworking karyakarta. He is a young and industrious leader with rich organisational experience and an impressive record as an MLA as well as a minister in Bihar for multiple terms,” Modi posted on X.

“He has diligently worked to fulfill people’s aspirations and is known for his humble and grounded style of functioning. I am confident that his energy and dedication will strengthen our party in the times to come.”

Nadda, too, had been appointed working president in 2019 after Shah, the then party chief, joined the Modi government as home minister. Nadda was formally elected BJP president in January 2020. Nabin is expected to follow the same trajectory.

The selection of Nadda’s successor had been delayed inordinately because of a long-drawn tussle between the BJP and its parent outfit. The Sangh had wanted a “strong organisational leader”, rather than a “rubber stamp”, who could dilute Modi-Shah’s stranglehold over the party and steer it in a post-Modi era.

Nabin’s appointment, however, appears to reflect a win for Modi-Shah over the Sangh. Many in the party believe that he will function largely as a “rubber stamp”.

“Forget the country, he has little face recognition even in Bihar outside Patna,” a BJP leader said.

“Several ministers in the Bihar government and at the Centre are far senior to him. He has never worked in the central party organisation. How can one expect him to function independently?”

The BJP leadership, however, sought to project Nabin’s appointment as marking a generational shift. Party leaders described him as a fourth-generation politician and said his elevation signalled a forward-looking, future-ready plan.

Shah praised Nabin’s organisational credentials.

“Whether as national general secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha, as state president of the youth wing in Bihar, or as state-in-charge for Chhattisgarh, he has discharged every organisational responsibility with dedication and success,” Shah posted on X.

He added that Nabin’s promotion was an “honour for every young BJP worker”.

Party veterans suggested that the appointments in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi were part of an unfolding tussle to shape the party’s post-Modi future. Shah and Adityanath are widely seen as the principal contenders tosucceed Modi.

“Shah lacks Adityanath’s popular appeal and is therefore trying to consolidate his control over the organisation. For now, he appears to have scored a point,” a BJPveteran said.

Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls in early 2027, and Shah will be calling the shots through Chaudhary,insiders said.

Modi-Shah’s control over the party had been weakened somewhat after the BJP fell short of a majority in the last general election, creating an opening for the RSS to try and wield greater influence.

However, a string of Assembly election victories — in Haryana and Maharashtra before the recent landslide win in Bihar — has restored much of the political capital the duo had lost.

“The Bihar victory has significantly strengthened Shah’s hand, as he was the chief strategist. It’s no coincidence that the appointments in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi were cleared after Bihar,” a BJP leader said. “A leader from Bihar has beenrewarded.”

Sangh insiders said Modi and Shah had initially pushed for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan or environment minister Bhupender Yadav to be appointed BJP president. The Sangh eventually cleared Nabin as a compromise.

Nabin, an upper caste Kayastha, expressed his “gratitude” to Modi and Shah.

“I have the Prime Minister’s blessings, and I will further advance the guidance and leadership he has provided,” he told reportersin Patna.