January 20, 2026 09:03 AM IST First published on: Jan 20, 2026 at 09:03 AM ISTWhen the BJP announced the appointment of Nitin Nabin, a leader from Bihar in his mid-40s, as its executive president, it shocked many. But those who know how the BJP functions were not surprised.This year will mark 75 years since the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) was founded. Its founders were clear about their purpose in setting up a new political party. According to Deendayal Upadhyaya, the Jana Sangh did not have a nucleus formed of a “disgruntled, dissident or discredited group of Congressmen”, unlike other parties. Its inspiration “came from those who basically differed from the Congress outlook and policies”.AdvertisementThe BJS and the BJP are different from others on at least four counts: Internal democracy, continued adherence to the “nation first” ideology, cultivation of cadres while building the party organisation, and performance in governance.Unlike most other political parties, the BJS-BJP never allowed the pursuit of dynastic politics, not just at the national, but also at the state level. From L K Advani to J P Nadda, no national president could even think about promoting their children. It’s the same with chief ministers from the party. Even today, the BJP is the only party that has a pre-set internal election calendar, which it has largely adhered to. Over the years, it evolved a system to deal with differences of opinion, thanks to which the BJP has never seen a vertical split.The Congress was the main nationalistic political force before Independence, but it abandoned many key ideological features for the sake of power post-1947. It moved away from the cultural context of nationalism to win over the Muslim vote bank, and turned its back on wealth creators and allowed licence-permit raj to flourish as it hobnobbed with the Left parties. It also gave up any commitment to democratic principles and handed over control to Indira Gandhi and her family. In contrast, the BJS-BJP has retained its ideological identity, even when it lost power, as in 1990 or in 1999 and when parties like the Asom Gana Parishad, Telugu Desam Party and Trinamool Congress broke their alliance with it.AdvertisementThe third factor that distinguishes the BJS-BJP is its organisational functioning. In the BJP, the position of the organising secretary at the national or state levels commands not just formal but also moral authority. The BJP is the only party to have structured departments for policy research and good governance. From recruitment to cultivation through training, it has been grooming the next generation of leaders at every level.most readBut the most important factor underscoring the BJP’s distinctiveness is its performance in governance. In the late ’70s, state governments led by stalwarts like Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in Rajasthan or Shanta Kumar Sharma in Himachal were lauded for their welfare schemes and development programmes. Historians cannot deny the remarkable success of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on several fronts, including the Pokhran-II tests, the seamless carving out of new states and bringing in POTA via a joint session of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rise at the national level is also attributed to his brilliant achievements on the governance front, showing how a leader can make good governance a reality.The BJP was able to achieve all this because it has never faced a crisis of purpose. Its clear ideological perspective is a foundation for policies. The RSS is a perennial source of motivation and a bedrock of support. Two decades ago, The Economist described political parties from major democracies as “empty vessels”. Once considered untouchable, the BJP today is an honourable exception to this description.The writer is a national executive committee member of the BJP