BJP president Nitin Nabin asks party workers to prioritise ‘nation first, self last’

Patna: BJP chief Nitin Nabin on Monday urged party workers in Bihar to work as if they were the national president, during his first visit to the state since being elevated to the top party post.

The 45-year-old leader, who represents Bankipur Assembly segment in the city, received a rousing welcome at the airport, from where he drove to Bapu Sabhagar, a gigantic auditorium situated about 7 km away, in a massive procession.

His vehicle was surrounded by party workers on motorcycles, wearing saffron turbans and waving BJP flags, as Bhojpuri songs praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar played from loudspeakers.

At Bapu Sabhagar, senior BJP leaders like state president Sanjay Saraogi and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary were among those present for the felicitation ceremony.

Addressing the gathering, Nabin urged party workers that his elevation has brought Bihar under the spotlight and "all of you should, henceforth, work as if you all were the national president".

He underscored that unlike other parties in which "the self was the first and the last thing that matters", BJP stood for "nation first, party second and self the last".

According to Nabin, this selflessness was evident in Modi's assertion that he considers 140 countrymen as "assets", unlike "Prime Ministers of the Congress era who saw them as problems".

The allusion was to the PM's speech in Rajya Sabha last week when he had alleged that the first premier Jawaharlal Nehru had termed the nation as "40 crore challenges" during a visit abroad.

Nabin recalled his own political journey that started in 2006, following the death of his father and BJP veteran Navin Kishore Sinha, and lauded the role played by party workers in "ridding Bihar of jungle raj".

"BJP workers fought the political battle in those days of anarchy when even distributing pamphlets was fraught with danger", said Nabin, referring to the alleged lawlessness that prevailed in Bihar when it was ruled by the RJD.

"I saw the same spirit among party workers during my recent visits of Kerala and West Bengal", said Nabin, speaking of two states where elections are due in a couple of months and where the BJP hopes to improve its presence.

He added that "the BJP is like a gigantic banyan tree. Do not feel lost if you think that recognition has not come your way so far. Remember that the party has powerful watch towers. Even a booth-level worker can aspire to become the state unit chief, even the national president, if he works hard".

"Modi has ushered in a new era in the BJP which has now enabled lakhs of young people to enter politics. The party has so far grown horizontally. In the days to come, we shall aim at vertical growth of workers. The party has a big role to play in realising Modi's dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047", said Nabin.

The BJP president, who last month became the youngest politician to occupy the top party post, later visited the Charkha Samiti, a memorial erected at the house where legendary socialist leader late Jayaprakash Narayan used to live.

Nabin also addressed a core committee meeting of the party at the BJP's state headquarters later in the day.

The meeting was attended by state-level office bearers besides members of Parliament and the state legislature.

The BJP president, who is here on a two-day visit, is scheduled to attend the proceedings of the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday.

He had resigned from the state cabinet soon after being made the BJP working president in December last year, but continues to hold the Bankipur Assembly seat which he won for a fifth consecutive time in the elections held in November.