NEW DELHI: Nitin Gadkari on Saturday became the youngest BJP president. The central parliamentary board, at its meeting convened here this afternoon, put its seal of approval on the 52-year-old leader's appointment as the next party chief. He replaces Rajnath Singh, who stepped down from his post at the board meeting, after a four-year inglorious stint.

Mr Gadkari's elevation marks the culmination of the exercise to effect a generational shift at the top in the party hierarchy -both in its organisational and parliamentary wings. A day earlier, L K Advani, after being appointed as the chairman of the BJP parliamentary party, had anointed Ms Sushma Swaraj as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, while re-confirming Arun Jaitley as the party's head in the Rajya Sabha. Both of them are 57.

The process of giving the party leadership a youthful look is expected to be carried forward, both at the central and state levels.

Mr Gadkari assumes his new responsibility at a very crucial time. After tasting defeat in a series of electoral battles, cadre morale is low. The party was also bogged down by a debilitating infighting among the so-called second generation leaders.

The BJP has also failed to keep pace with the changing times, and lost the trust of the youth and the burgeoning urban middle class in the process.

Mr Gadkari, who hails from Nagpur and over the years cultivated the image of an honest, hard-working leader who has toiled his way to the top, thus has task cut out.

The remarks made by him soon after taking over the reins of the party showed that he was aware of his limitations, as also the challenges confronting. Mr Gadkari acknowledged the "lack of adequate experience" to deal with national-level problems, but promised to take every one along.

"It's a big responsibility that has been bestowed upon me, and am not sure how will I fulfil it," he told newspersons after being formally crowned as the party president.

The new BJP president will have to address three immediate problems. If the NDA comes anywhere near the half-way mark in the Jharkhand assembly polls, he'll have the difficult task of selecting the chief ministerial candidate.

He'll also have to take a call on the party's candidate for the post of leader of the opposition in Rajasthan, where Ms Vasundhara Raje is keen to throw her hat in the ring again.

Most importantly, Mr Gadkari will have to forge a team which can inspire confidence among the cadre, and the people in general, and also mirror the aspirations of a resurgent India. The problem is that there is an acute talent-deficit, and he'll have to cast his net wide to build such a team.