Right Man, Right Time?

Jagat Prakash Nadda, 58, will be the Bharatiya Janata Party’s first working president. His predecessor, Amit Shah, the new home minister, will remain president until his term ends in December.

- Uday Mahurkar

Nadda is then expected to become party president, in keeping with the party’s “one man, one post” principle. A BJP functionary who had observed Nadda’s performance as the party’s general secretary in charge of Chhattisgarh, in 2014, describes him as a “good manager under a good chairman and certainly not a damager”. His comments echoed those of others within the party, suggesting that Nadda is viewed as a steady hand. The unspoken subtext is that Nadda is trusted by Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do as he is told, and also, that he harbours few political ambitions of his own.

Once Shah was appointed home minister, BJP members and political analysts alike anticipated an internal wrangling for power. Without the right man at the helm, an ugly power grab might have been inevitable. But Shah is expected to keep a firm grip on proceedings, certainly until his term ends.