Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Nabin on Saturday, 7 November credited India's youth as the primary force behind the country's growing global stature, while launching a sharp attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of functioning as a 'foreign toolkit' to destabilise the country. Speaking in an exclusive interview in New Delhi, Nabin also addressed the upcoming Punjab and Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's completion of 25 years in governance.

Youth as India's Biggest Strength

Nabin, widely noted as the youngest BJP president, said India's demographic dividend was no longer a talking point but a visible force reshaping the country's global footprint. 'Today, if India is progressing on the global stage, its work is being performed by the youth — whether in the field of research, AI or sports,' he said. He pointed to over two lakh startups as evidence that young Indians had shifted from being job seekers to job creators.

He linked this transformation to NITI Aayog's 25-year roadmap developed under Prime Minister Modi, framing the 'Viksit Bharat by 2047' vision as youth-centric by design. Notably, this framing positions the BJP's electoral pitch squarely around aspiration rather than welfare alone — a messaging shift that has become more pronounced since the 2024 general elections.

Modi's 25 Years: Service, Sacrifice and a Transformation Narrative

On Prime Minister Modi completing 25 years in governance — spanning his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister and subsequently as Prime Minister — Nabin described the period as one of 'service, dedication, and tapasya.' He cited the lifting of approximately 25 crore people out of poverty as among Modi's most significant achievements, alongside India's rise from the so-called 'Fragile Five' grouping of economies to its current position among the world's top five economies.

'Earlier our soldiers were beheaded but now under PM Modi's leadership no one can dare raise eyes towards India,' Nabin said, invoking national security as a pillar of the Modi governance record. He also credited the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with providing the BJP its ideological foundation, noting that two RSS swayamsevaks — Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi — have served as Prime Ministers of India.

Punjab and Uttar Pradesh: BJP's Electoral Confidence

Ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, Nabin trained his fire on both the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, alleging deterioration in law and order, a drug crisis among youth, and a lack of accountability under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. On a potential alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal, he said a decision would be taken 'at the appropriate time,' while confirming the BJP was preparing to contest all 117 Assembly seats.

In Uttar Pradesh, Nabin dismissed the reported alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress as a 'jugalbandi' that voters would not trust. He invoked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's law-and-order record as a key differentiator, contrasting the SP-era 'one district, one mafia' tag with the BJP's 'one district, one product' development model. 'We are now progressing towards Uttam Pradesh,' he said.

Attack on Rahul Gandhi: 'Toolkit to Destabilise India'

Nabin's sharpest remarks were directed at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. He alleged that a statement by a Congress minister — that Gandhi controls a 'remote button' capable of mobilising 40 lakh people to 'create anarchy' — validated the BJP's longstanding charge that Gandhi was being used as an instrument of destabilisation. 'Now that Congress leaders themselves are saying this, our claims have been clearly vindicated,' Nabin said.

He also questioned Gandhi's parliamentary engagement, saying that if Gandhi wished to challenge Prime Minister Modi, the floor of Parliament was the appropriate platform. On Gandhi's reported challenge to Modi for an open social media debate, Nabin said: 'It takes 25 years of dedicated public service and hard work to earn that position. It does not happen overnight.' He further alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which he described as sustained by foreign funding, could not credibly shape India's political narrative — a charge the Congress has consistently denied.

West Bengal and Tamil Nadu: BJP's Wider Ambitions

Reflecting on his recent visit to West Bengal, Nabin said public enthusiasm for the BJP government — the first in nearly 50 years — was palpable during padyatras, with residents coming out in large numbers. He acknowledged a tragic incident during Durga Puja in which 19 people lost their lives due to a structural collapse, but said the subsequent Dussehra celebrations reflected the state's resilience.

On Tamil Nadu, Nabin argued that the Congress had a pattern of sidelining alliance partners once in power, citing its relationship with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) as a precedent, and suggested that C. Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) was experiencing a similar dynamic. 'Power is everything for Congress,' he said. As assembly election cycles across multiple states intensify, the BJP's multi-front political positioning — from Punjab to Tamil Nadu — signals an organisation operating in full campaign mode.