Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Feb 2: The Bharatiya Janata Party is quietly shaping its future leadership by investing in youth. Over 1,000 Indians between the ages of 25 and 40 are being selected for structured political training under a long-term mentorship programme inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to bring young talent into mainstream politics. The selected participants will undergo three years of mentoring before being absorbed into the party’s organisational structure.
Senior BJP leaders say the idea is to build a youth-centric party by grooming qualified and dynamic leaders from diverse regions and backgrounds. After the mentoring phase, around 150 to 200 are expected to join central and state-level organisations, 250 to 300 will be deployed in Morchas and key initiatives, while nearly 500 will be groomed individually for future leadership roles. Following Nitin Nabin’s appointment as BJP national president, selections reportedly included 110 candidates from Uttar Pradesh, 70 from Bihar, 50 to 60 each from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and 15 to 20 from smaller states.
Meanwhile, political chatter in Bihar is gaining momentum with speculation that Nishant Kumar, son of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, may soon enter active politics. Sources within the NDA suggest that the JD(U) could induct him as a key office-bearer after Holi, once the party appoints a full-time national president. Currently, Sanjay Kumar Jha serves as working national president, but the BJP’s recent organisational overhaul has reportedly increased pressure on JD(U) to formalise its leadership.
Adding further intrigue is talk of former IAS officer RCP Singh making a return to the JD(U). Once considered Nitish Kumar’s trusted aide, Singh’s possible comeback after Holi is being keenly watched, signalling that Bihar’s political temperature is rising fast.
On a lighter yet telling note, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari recently made headlines for his reaction to risky pedestrian behaviour on highways. Witnessing a woman jump over a median railing on a busy national highway near his Nagpur residence, with schoolchildren on her shoulders, reportedly left him alarmed. Gadkari is said to have asked engineers to design pedestrian guard rails so tall and forbidding that crossing them would be nearly impossible, even suggesting barbed tops. While his remarks carried humour, the underlying concern was serious — curbing dangerous behaviour on high-speed roads.
In West Bengal, the BJP is adopting a cautious electoral strategy ahead of the assembly polls. State leaders have been pressing for the declaration of a chief ministerial face, with Leader of the Opposition Shubhendu Adhikari’s supporters even sounding out the party’s central leadership in Delhi. However, the response has reportedly been a firm refusal.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is said to have conveyed that the decision on a chief ministerial candidate will be taken only after the election, and only if the BJP secures the numbers. The party believes announcing a face too early could become a distraction, preferring instead a collective leadership pitch. Unlike Uttar Pradesh, where Yogi Adityanath became the focal point of the campaign, Bengal will see the BJP ask for votes first and decide faces later.