New Delhi: BJP president J.P. Nadda, who chaired the BJP office bearers meeting, said the party had expanded its presence to nearly 8.5 lakh booths out of the total 10.46 lakh booths in the country. He said the BJP, which was ruling in five states in 2014, was now in power in 12 states and the NDA in 17 states.
Introducing a new acronym, 'GYAN' (knowledge), which he elaborated as “Gareeb” (poor), “Yuva” (youth), “Annadata” (farmer), and “Nari” (women), Nadda highlighted that Modi had dismantled the "vote bank politics" constructed by the opposition and prioritised these segments, irrespective of caste and community.
Nadda said the last decade under Modi's leadership had been full of accomplishments for the BJP and the country. He said the party had made a mark as a party of development and good governance and its schemes, initiatives and reforms had transformed several lives.
He also said the party had fulfilled its core agenda of abrogating Article 370, which was opposed by Mookherjee, who died in detention in Kashmir in 1953. He quoted Modi as saying that 370 was not just a number for the BJP, but a symbol of a deep sentiment and that each of the 370 seats that the party aimed to win would represent Mookherjee's legacy.
The BJP president sounded confident that out of the 161 Lok Sabha seats lost by the party in 2019, it is confident of winning most of them as party leaders including union ministers have visited these constituencies, listened to people their queries and resolved them. Central ministers visited these seats during the 'Lok Sabha Pravas Yojana' 430 times.
BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, who briefed the media about the meeting, said Modi also told the party workers that the Opposition would raise unnecessary and emotional issues during the polls, but they should stick to the issues of development, pro-poor policies and the country's rising global standing. The BJP general secretary said Modi has been the head of a government, including more than 12 years as Gujarat chief minister, for nearly 23 years and there has been no allegation of corruption.
“It's been an 'aarop mukt' and a 'vikas yukt' period," he said quoting the PM, adding that there has been no instance of such a long tenure of anyone holding constitutional positions not drawing any taint.
Around 11,500 BJP leaders, including Chief Ministers, MPs, union ministers and state unit presidents, are attending the national council meeting in the national capital, where they will seek guidance from the party's top brass, including Modi, who is confident of scoring a third consecutive victory in the Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP will be launching a campaign to reach out to beneficiaries of various Central government schemes from February 25. It will also be starting a 'Sampark Abhiyan' targeting women's self-help groups and NGOs in the upcoming days where work done by the Modi government for the welfare of the underprivileged will be disseminated.
