Back in 2007, as a 27-year-old, he had drawn reprimand from senior BJP leaders for walking the ramp to the song Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram in Patna, according to a party insider. He went on to become a five-time MLA and a minister in the Bihar government.
He is also a Madhuri Dikshit fan, he said in a TV interview in which he also revealed what he had written in his slam book.
Since news of his appointment broke Sunday, Nabin’s residence at 3, Taylor Road, under the Chitkohra Bridge in Patna, has become a hub of power as convoys of SUVs carrying political leaders, BJP workers and well-wishers from across Bihar flock there to congratulate him.
Back in October, his wife, Dr Deepmala Shrivastava, was observing the four-day Chhath Puja fast, and could not have guessed the guest due to land at her home for prasad. It was Union Home Minister Amit Shah. At the time, no one could have sensed any hidden political messaging in the visit, especially not Nabin and his family, as Bihar was due for assembly polls.
The elections were subsequently swept by the NDA-led alliance and JD(U) leader and ally Nitish Kumar continued as chief minister.
“We could not guess from that (October) visit that my husband would be elevated to this post,” Deepmala, who has been constantly watching news channels to track her husband’s national journey, tells ThePrint. By the time her husband came home to give her the news Sunday, it was already all over the media, she says.
A video clip is now going viral on social media—of Kumar ticking off Nabin in the assembly in 2022, at a time when the CM had broken ties with the BJP-led NDA and rejoined the opposition Mahagathbandhan.
Cutting off Nabin’s argument, Kumar says: “Baitho, tum kya jaante ho? Jis din pitaji ki mrityu ho gayi, aur din poore Patna mein maatra 18% vote hua tha, tab aap hi jeete, hum log aapke liye kaam kar rahe the. Bolo mat, chup chaap raho. Kitna prem karte rahe, kitna samman karte rahe… bolna zaroor… tum bologe mere khilaaf, tabhi kendra wala kuch aage badha dega (Sit down, what do you know? The day your father passed away, and when only 18% of Patna voted, you still won. We were working for you then. Don’t speak, be quiet. We showed you so much love, so much respect… but yes, do speak, when you speak against me, only then will the Centre reward you).”
Nitish was referring to the death of Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha on 31 December, 2005, and Nabin later fighting, and winning, the bypoll from Patna West (now Bankipur) assembly constituency.
Along with the clip, a wave of old photographs featuring Nabin has flooded social media.
Nabin’s selfie with late veteran BJP leader Sushil Modi is in the news cycle again, with social media users captioning as “this is how politics works”. Many pointed out that the man elated at getting a selfie with Sushil Modi was now one with whom the most powerful BJP leader was posing.
While Nabin’s appointment has shocked many, members of his office are busy navigating the change in his stature.
“People started guessing that he might get something big, but it was never this post,” said Niranjan Singh, one of his three personal assistants and member of the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, RSS-affiliated student outfit) who began working with him 10 years ago, straight after graduating from Patna College. Nabin was heading the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha then.
On Sunday evening, firecrackers lit up the city’s skyline and traffic jammed on Veerchand Patel Marg, marking the momentous journey of a politician from Bihar rising to the topmost position in the BJP.
The roads of Patna are now adorned with towering posters that shadow hoardings of CM Nitish Kumar. All are splashed in saffron, bear Nabin’s image and announce his new posting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, showered praise on Nabin on social media, terming him a hardworking karyakarta. “He is a young and industrious leader with rich organisational experience and has an impressive record as MLA as well as minister in Bihar for multiple terms. He has diligently worked to fulfil people’s aspirations. He is known for his humble nature and grounded style of working,” he posted on X.
Shri Nitin Nabin Ji has distinguished himself as a hardworking Karyakarta. He is a young and industrious leader with rich organisational experience and has an impressive record as MLA as well as Minister in Bihar for multiple terms. He has diligently worked to fulfil people’s…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 14, 2025
Omkar Kumar, one of 63 Shakti Kendra pramukhs in Bankipur constituency, which Nabin has been winning since 2006, told ThePrint: “When he (Nabin) was called around 3 o’clock to be informed (Sunday), he was in the middle of the Karyakarta Pariwar Samman Samaroh and had to garland nearly 4,000 workers. The speech of (deputy CM) Samrat Choudhary was ongoing.”
“He waited until the programme was over to share the news. It shows his commitment to the sangathan (organisation),” added Omkar, who has been with Nabin since his first day in politics.
In one of his very first statements after he was awarded the top post, Nabin told the media: “If we are to keep our country safe, we need to win Bengal too.”
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‘Accidental politician’
Inside Nabin’s residence Monday, orange chairs were neatly arranged, tea is being poured and snacks served to guests. A team attends hundreds of calls while welcoming a steady stream of visitors. Nabin’s eight-year-old son, Naitik, a Class 2 student at DPS, has just returned from school.
“He is too young to understand the political weight his father now carries,” says Deepmala, who retired from the post of senior manager in the State Bank of India to look after her two children and the family. She and Nabin had got married in an arranged set up in 2009, after she graduated from Bihar Veterinary College while he was already an MLA.
“I come from a family of bankers, and his grandfather was also a government servant, but his father made it big in politics,” she adds.
Born in 1980 to Nabin Kishore and Meera Sinha, the middle son among two daughters, Nitin Nabin spent his youth in hostel life in Delhi. His father was a contemporary of BJP leaders such as Arun Sinha, Nand Kishore Yadav, and Sushil Modi, having participated in the JP movement in Bihar.
Nabin finished schooling at New Delhi’s CSKM Public School and later moved to Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (BIT Mesra) for engineering studies. However, he stayed away from politics during his school and college days.
“His father had gone to Delhi after he wasn’t made a minister in the Bihar government. He passed away on 31 December due to a heart attack,” recalls Pramod Kumar Singh, an old friend of Nabin Kishore. “We knew each other since 1985. He never wanted his son to join politics and that’s why he sent him away for education.”
After the heart attack, Nabin was summoned back from his college. “It was his last semester. If that (his father’s death) had not happened, he would have gone for post-graduate studies outside the country,” Deepmala said. In an interview, Nabin too said he got into politics accidentally.
After his father’s death, a bypoll was due and leaders C.P. Thakur and Kailashpati Mishra were trying to field Nabin’s mother.
“His mother said that Nitin should get a chance. So, he contested at the age of 25. It was a sympathy wave. Everyone knew that he would win. The opposition didn’t even come out to vote, just to ensure his victory,” Singh tells ThePrint, adding that his father’s goodwill was immense, and he was considered a godfather in Patna Mahanagar back then.
Nitin inherited that goodwill and carried it forward.
It was only after this that his journey into the RSS and BJP began. Over the years, he managed to establish himself as a soft spoken, accessible leader with a humble lifestyle, and won elections in 2010, 2015, 2020, 2025.
He was made a minister for the first time in 2020 and was allocated the road construction portfolio. Over the years, he has also held portfolios such as urban development and housing, as well as law and justice.
Nabin’s poll affidavit states that his total assets were around Rs 6 lakh before the 2010 Bihar assembly elections. However, according to his 2025 assembly poll affidavit, his assets have grown to worth over Rs 3 crore, while he carries liabilities exceeding Rs 56 lakh. He also has five criminal cases against him, mostly related to unlawful gatherings.
Also Read: Is Prashant Kishor the Kejriwal of Bihar? Yes, but not really
Rooted in father’s legacy, discipline
At Nabin’s offices at Income Tax Chauraha in Patna and his residence, his father’s portraits hang large and garlanded.
“What anchors his personal and political life are his father’s few lines,” his wife says. “He remains a guiding light for him, and the song O Saathi Re from the 1978 film Muqaddar Ka Sikandar.” Nitin’s mother, Meera Sinha, passed away in 2021.
In the TV interview, Nabin also confessed that his favourite politician, apart from PM Modi, was Sushil Modi. It was further revealed that the usual conflict in the family home was about Nabin’s discipline after becoming part of the sangathan and Deepmala’s casual approach to matters. “I may have been casual earlier but now I believe in a system,” he said.
Nabin’s many responsibilities in the party leave little space for family, and the last film the couple watched together at home was the 2023 movie 12th Fail. Nabin is also known to touch the feet of older workers, addressing them fondly and maintaining a soft tone.
A political commentator who didn’t wish to be named says that over time, he has carefully cultivated the image of a simple man. “On flights, one can’t recognise whether he is a minister or an MLA, because he is more likely to be sitting away from the front row, handling his own trolley.”
‘Ek Bihari, sab pe bhari’
In 2010, Nabin was appointed national general secretary of the Yuva Morcha, a role he held until the year 2013. From 2016 to 2019, he served as state president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Bihar, building a connection with the cadre.
In 2019, he was given the responsibility of overseeing elections in Sikkim and was made in-charge of the state. From 2021 to 2024, he was co-in charge of Chhattisgarh where the BJP formed the government in 2023. He was made Lok Sabha election in-charge of Chhattisgarh just last year.
At the BJP headquarters in Patna, phrases such as “ek Bihari, sab pe bhari” (one Bihari outweighs all) floated through the air.
Workers recalled how several senior leaders from Bihar had earlier been promoted to national roles but nobody achieved the feat Nabin has. Kailashpati Mishra had served as the BJP’s national vice-president, while leaders like Renu Devi and Radha Mohan Singh also held the same position. Even Ravi Shankar Prasad served as BJP general secretary, while Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Shahnawaz Hussain represented the party as national spokespersons.
In this backdrop, Nabin’s appointment as BJP working president is seen as historic.
“He is the youngest and a very promising leader to have reached such heights. He can speak Hindi and English and having him as president will benefit the party in the southern states,” Sanjay Singh Tiger, a BJP leader from Bihar currently serving as minister of labour resources, tells ThePrint at the BJP office.
Ajeet Kumar Chaudhary, a member of Bihar State Mahadalit Commission and a BJP worker, echoes the sentiment. “The decision has re-energised the cadre. It means that young people from the most humble backgrounds can be rewarded,” he says, adding that while the move may have surprised many, it has, in a way, reinvigorated the organisation.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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