Jagat Prakash Nadda, the low-profile member who rose from ABVP leader to post of general secretary

NEW DELHI: Jagat Prakash Nadda is often cited by the BJP rank and file as an example of somebody who rose from a ABVP leader to the post of general secretary by being suave, amiable and a low-profile member who stuck to the task assigned to him. His good equations with PM Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah have also contributed to his elevation as a Union minister.

Nadda, a general secretary in the team of party presidents Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh and Shah, was till recently one of the frontrunners for the post of BJP chief.

However, Modi chose Shah for the top post despite the legal cases against him. But the 53-year-old Nadda continued to play a crucial role during Shah's tenure and one could often see the two holding closed-door meetings with state leaders on organisational issues.

His contribution as a national general secretary is obvious from the responsibilities entrusted to him. He was incharge of Punjab, Chhattisgarh and lately Jammu and Kashmir. The Brahmin from Himachal Pradesh was recently given charge of Maharashtra and Rajasthan by Shah but Modi chose to use his skills in his Cabinet.

Nadda started his political career as an ABVP activist in Bihar and later became chief of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He has worked closely with Modi when the two were junior party activists and enjoy a good rapport. Nadda is impressed with Modi's style of functioning and worked as a back-room leader during the Lok Sabha polls.

Sources close to him maintain that in his youth Nadda had decided to stay single and dedicate himself to party work. However, his father – a vice-chancellor of Patna University – made him change his mind.