MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chose a little-known legislator from India’s poorest state as the party’s youngest president on Tuesday, a generational shift in the effort to retain young voters.
Nitin Nabin, 45, takes over from outgoing president J.P. Nadda, 65, months before key state elections, one of them in the eastern state of West Bengal, which the BJP has never won and is strongly focused on.
A five-time lawmaker from the eastern state of Bihar, Nabin was elected unopposed as the party’s 12th president after Modi and other leaders proposed him.
Hundreds of workers watched at party headquarters in New Delhi as Nabin, his forehead smeared with a vermillion mark and his shoulders wrapped in a scarf with the party symbol, took the oath of office before Modi and four past presidents.
“When it comes to the party, I am a worker and he is my boss,” Modi, 75, said in his remarks, pointing to Nabin, who will serve a three-year term.
In his speech, Nabin repeatedly praised Modi as a generational leader and urged young people to take an active part in politics.
More than 40 percent of India’s one billion voters are aged between 18 and 39, the Election Commission and analysts estimate.
The BJP suffered a shock setback in the 2024 general election as Modi lost his majority after 10 years in power and had to rely on regional allies to form a government.
But it has since regained ground, winning critical state and civic body elections. The party and its allies govern 19 of India’s 28 states.
India PM Modi’s party elects youngest-ever president with eye to youth vote
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India PM Modi’s party elects youngest-ever president with eye to youth vote
- A five-time lawmaker from the eastern state of Bihar, Nabin was elected unopposed as the party’s 12th president after Modi and other leaders proposed him
Trump, sharing leaked texts and AI mock-ups, vows ‘no going back’ on Greenland
- To drive home the message, Trump posted an AI image of himself in Greenland, holding a US flag
- Separately, he leaked messages including from French President Emmanuel Macron, who questioned what Trump was “doing on Greenland”
DAVOS, Switzerland/COPENHAGEN: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed there was “no going back” on his goal to control Greenland, refusing to rule out taking the Arctic island by force and rounding on allies as European leaders struggled to respond.
Trump’s ambition — spelled out in social media posts and mock-up AI images — to wrest sovereignty over Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark has threatened to blow apart the alliance that has underpinned Western security for decades.
It has also threatened to reignite a trade war with Europe that rattled markets and companies for months last year, though Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed back against what he called “hysteria” over Greenland.
“As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back — On that, everyone agrees!” Trump said after speaking to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
To drive home the message, Trump posted an AI image of himself in Greenland, holding a US flag. Another showed him speaking to leaders next to a map showing Canada and Greenland as part of the United States.
Separately, he leaked messages including from French President Emmanuel Macron, who questioned what Trump was “doing on Greenland.” Trump, who has vowed to impose tariffs on countries who stood in his way, had earlier threatened to hammer French wines and champagnes with a 200 percent tariff.
BESSENT PUSHES BACK AGAINST ‘HYSTERIA’
The European Union has threatened to hit back with trade measures. One option is a package of tariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of US imports that could automatically kick in on February 6 after a six-month suspension.
Another option is the “Anti-Coercion Instrument” (ACI), which has never yet been used. It could limit access to public tenders, investments or banking activity, or restrict trade in services, the sector in which the US has a surplus with the bloc, including the lucrative digital services provided by US tech giants.
“This is not a question about the Kingdom of Denmark, it is about the entire transatlantic relationship,” Denmark’s Economy Minister Stephanie Lose told journalists ahead of an EU meeting of economy and finance ministers in Brussels.
“At this point in time, we do not believe that anything should be ruled out. This is a serious situation that, although we would like to de-escalate, there are others who are contributing to escalating it right now, and therefore we will have to keep all options on the table as we move forward.”
Bessent, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, said a solution would be found that ensures national security for the United States and Europe.
“It’s been 48 hours. As I said, sit back, relax,” he said. “I am confident that the leaders will not escalate and that this will work out in a manner that ends up in a very good place for all.”
Asked about the prospect of a prolonged trade war between the United States and Europe, Bessent replied: “Why are we jumping there? Why are you taking it to the worst case?... Calm down the hysteria. Take a deep breath.”
However, in her own speech in Davos, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the series of recent geopolitical shocks will force the EU to build a new independent Europe.
“We will only be able to capitalize on this opportunity if we recognize that this change is permanent,” she said.
RUSSIA QUESTIONS DANISH SOVEREIGNTY OVER GREENLAND
Trump will also this week attend the Davos gathering of the global political and business elite. Swiss newspaper NZZ reported that protesters marched in Zurich, Switzerland, late on Monday, carrying a giant banner saying: “TRUMP NOT WELCOME. NO WEF! NO OLIGARCHY! NO IMPERIALIST WARS!“
The foreign minister of Russia, which has been watching with glee as Trump’s drive to acquire Greenland widens splits with Europe, said on Tuesday that Greenland was not “a natural part” of Denmark.
Trump’s renewed tariff threats against European allies have revived talk of the ‘Sell America’ trade that emerged in the aftermath of his sweeping levies last April.
Stock markets bore the brunt on Monday of fears that the trade war could re-escalate, with European equities dropping over 1 percent and US stock futures taking a similar hit that points to weakness following Monday’s US public holiday.
The dollar was on the back foot too, a sign that the world’s No.1 reserve currency was also in the crosshairs of Trump’s threat on Saturday to increase tariffs on Europe.
