The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Union Health Minister JP Nadda as the new Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Piyush Goyal. Goyal won the Mumbai North constituency in the 2024 general election and was sworn into the Lok Sabha on June 24.
Nadda's appointment comes amid speculation that he may step down as BJP national president, a position he took over from the current Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, in 2020.
However, it now appears that Nadda will remain the BJP's top organisational leader.
According to the party laws, a national president is elected only after the organisation polls are completed in 50 percent of all states, which is likely to go on for around six months.
JP Nadda's political career began in 1975 as an activist for the Bihar Movement, also known as the JP Movement. He later joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and became actively involved in student politics, serving as secretary of the Patna University's Central Association in 1977.
He earlier also served as an MLA in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly; he won the Bilaspur seat three times - 1993, 1998, and 2007 - and served as the Health Minister between 1998 and 2003.
In April this year he was elected as the Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat.
