JP Nadda to Succeed Piyush Goyal as Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, Following Prime Minister Modi’s Second Term
New Delhi: Union Health Minister and senior BJP leader JP Nadda has assumed the role of Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha today. Additionally, Mr. Nadda holds the portfolio for Chemicals and Fertilizers in the Cabinet.
Mr. Nadda succeeds Piyush Goyal as the Leader of the House. During Prime Minister Modi’s second term, Mr. Goyal held this position in the Rajya Sabha.
Following his swearing-in, there were speculations about Mr. Nadda stepping down from his position as the BJP National President, a role he assumed from the current Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2020. However, it seems Mr. Nadda will continue to serve as the BJP’s principal organizational leader.
According to party regulations, the election of a National President occurs only after organizational elections are concluded in at least 50 percent of all states, a process expected to span about six months. Hence, the new president may be elected around December-January.
JP Nadda, a law graduate, embarked on his political journey with the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), the student wing of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), which serves as the ideological mentor to the BJP. He assumed leadership of the party’s youth wing, the BJYM (Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha), in 1991.
His tenure in the Rajya Sabha began in 2012, representing Himachal Pradesh. In 2014, he joined the BJP’s parliamentary board when Amit Shah assumed the presidency of the party.
Prior to his Rajya Sabha tenure, Mr. Nadda served as an MLA in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, winning the Bilaspur seat three times (in 1993, 1998, and 2007) and serving as the Health Minister from 1998 to 2003.
In April of this year, he was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat.
