Affable Nadda scripted wins in over 30 state polls

NEW new delhi: amiable and efficient ar the deuce words company colleagues use to describe Jagat Prakash Nadda who concluded his six-year term as Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) president on Tuesday.Nadda, 65, who was designated as the first ever working president of the party in June 2019 made way for 45-year old Nitin Nabin, a five-time legislator from Bihar.Born on December 2, 1960 in Patna, Nadda cut his teeth in politics as a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the BJP.An alumnus of the Patna University, where he completed his LLB, Nadda displayed his leadership and political acumen as a student leader at the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) in Shimla, which catapulted him into the spotlight.Nadda who became the 11th president of the BJP, is described by his party colleagues as a man of few words, but steadfast in ensuring that the organisational work does not go off the rails.Low-key, amiable leader “He understands the leader…and how work has to be carried out,” said a senior party colleague who has worked with Nadda from their student union days. Commenting on his presidency, this person added, “His temperament is amiable; without conflict and contradictions, he ran the organisation, stuck to the leader’s [Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s] message and ensured that the entire organisation was ready, be it for elections or any other task identified by the leadership.”“His strength lies in being a low-key leader…who does not attract attention,” he said.But this person and several party colleagues concur that while Nadda is known for his even temper, he minces no words when it comes to delivering a hard message.“There have been several instances when party leaders spoke out of turn, or took a stance that embarrassed the party. Nadda was emphatic that the leaders needed to toe the party line,” said the person cited above.Nadda’s term as national president started a few months before the world was shaken by a global pandemic in March 2020. As shutdowns and social distancing became living room conversations, Nadda had the tough task of marshalling the cadre of the world’s largest party. Work shifted from the streets to the screens. Virtual conferences with leaders across the country became the new norm, and the party head had to devise ways of ensuring boots on the ground without breaching the protocol in place for social distancing.“Inspired by PM Modi’s mantra of Seva hi Sangathan (organisation means service), he oversaw the work of the party cadre serving the people. There were regular meetings, tasks and follow ups to ensure that the party does not lose the edge that it had over the opponents, which was presence on the ground…” said a second party leader who asked not to be named.Big shoes to fillThe pandemic was not the only challenge he faced. In January 2020, after succeeding Amit Shah, Nadda had to brace for the inevitable comparisons with a man who is seen as the party’s finest election strategist.Shah, the tough-talking leader was credited for the party’s expansion pan India and successive victories in states including those that were unbreached fortresses such as the North East. Nadda with his unobtrusive demeanour and soft-approach had to navigate choppy electoral waters as he led campaigns for several state elections.He earned credit from the PM for the party’s success in Bihar in 2020, and went on to lead the party as it scripted wins in over 30 state polls and two general elections.“When he took over, the party was overcoming the losses in Maharashtra and Jharkhand… He had to oversee every aspect of election preparation from the booth-level organisation to campaign issues and motivating the cadre, which is key to all electioneering,” said the second leader quoted above.While the Aam Aadmi Party won Delhi in 2020, 2021 offered a balm with the BJP scoring a success in Assam and Puducherry. A reasonably good performance in West Bengal in 2021, with the party emerging as the main opposition was followed by big wins in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa. Reclaiming the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh in 2023 were a shot in the arm for Nadda and the party.“While his predecessors have each contributed to the party’s expansion and carved out an identity as muscular leaders or hardline followers of the Hindutva ideology, Nadda always took the middle path. He is rooted in the Sangh’s ideology but his tone is moderate and speech measured,” a third party leader said on condition of anonymity.It was perhaps this attribute that saw him emerge unscathed from a controversial comment he made on the role of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He spoke of how the BJP may have needed the RSS in its early years, but that the party had since become capable of doing its own work.One man, three posts While the BJP is known to pursue the policy of one-man, one-post, Nadda had the distinction of holding three positions. Apart from being the party president, the is also the union minister for health and family welfare and leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha. His party colleagues credit his deftness in juggling these roles to his training as a karyakarta (worker) which saw him emerge as a leader who made his way from the assembly in Himachal Pradesh to the echelons of power in the Capital.Nadda served three terms as an MLA in Himachal Pradesh, he was a state cabinet minister, entered the Rajya Sabha in 2012 and served on several parliamentary standing committees. He was Union Health Minister from 2014 to 2019 before being moved into the party’s top organisational role and came back to the portfolio from June 2024.On Tuesday, the boy from Patna who often cycled at night carrying food for his sister, a student at the Patna Medical College handed over the baton of party president to another boy from Patna, signalling a new order.