PM Modi tells workers 'be bridge of faith for common man', at day-long national executive meet | Key takeaways
Specifically naming the five states where the party has never tasted power on its own - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal - BJP president JP Nadda said, "The states where BJP has not come to power till now, (the party) will try its best and is committed to form the government in these states."
The BJP's national executive meeting on Sunday saw discussions on the upcoming assembly elections in five states. The party's national office-bearers, its national executive members from the national capital and Union ministers were physically present in the meeting, while the chief ministers, other national executive members as well its veteran leaders L K Advani and MM Joshi, who are part of the Margdarshak Mandal, attended the meeting virtually.
During the meeting, chief ministers of four states where elections are due early next year - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa - and their respective state presidents gave presentations on their poll preparations. BJP's Punjab unit head also gave a presentation on upcoming assembly elections and said that the party will contest all 117 assembly seats. This was the BJP's first national executive meeting after the outbreak of the pandemic which was held in hybrid mode.
Nadda's target of booth committees at all polling stations
Revving up for upcoming assembly polls, BJP president JP Nadda set an ambitious target of having booth committees at all polling stations in the country by December this year and "panna committees" responsible for each page of voters’ list by April next year, while asserting that the party's best is yet to come.
Setting new organisation targets for the BJP's expansion, according to Pradhan, Nadda announced the party will constitute booth level committees at all 10.40 lakh polling stations in the country by December 25 this year and have "panna committees", a reference to each page of voters’ list, in each constituency by April 6. "The entire exercise is aimed at taking the party penetration deeper and further strengthening its roots on the ground," Pradhan said.
Addressing the BJP's national executive, Nadda also reached out to Sikhs, who are in majority in poll-bound Punjab that is the most affected by the anti-agri law protests, by listing a number of measures the Modi government has taken for the community.
"No one has done as much work as our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has done in the interest of Sikh brothers," he said and mentioned steps like FCRA registration given to Golden temple in Amritsar, opening up of Kartarpur corridor, removal of names of 314 Sikhs from the black list and expediting action against 1984 riots accused.
Political violence in TMC-ruled Bengal
Taking a strong note of political violence in TMC-ruled West Bengal against BJP workers, Nadda said, "I want to make it clear through the party's national executive that we are not going to sit quietly. We will fight a decisive battle for the party workers democratically in Bengal and lotus will bloom in the state." He said there are very few parallels in Indian politics to the BJP's growth in West Bengal.
Sharing the details of Nadda's speech, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters that he underlined the party's performance in West Bengal assembly polls and the substantial growth in the party's vote share compared to the 2016 assembly elections, and 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Specifically naming the five states where the party has never tasted power on its own - Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Odisha and West Bengal - Nadda said, "The states where BJP has not come to power till now, (the party) will try its best and is committed to form the government in these states."
The resolution also attacked West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress for "sponsored violence" against BJP workers in the state and vowed to ensure justice through legal means. Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai seconded the resolution moved by Adityanath with Union ministers G Kishan Reddy, who is from Telangana, and Ashwini Viashnaw, MP from Odisha, also speaking.
The Pandemic fight
Nadda said the executive hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effective leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, administering of over 100 crore vaccination doses and providing free food grains to 80 crore poor people. He said that Nadda noted that this is the largest food programme in human history.
Citing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Pradhan said the executive lauded Modi for his foresight of enacting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which aims at providing citizenship to minorities such as Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists in some neighbouring countries, including Pakistan and Afghanistan.
BJP should be a bridge of faith: PM
In his speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP members to become a "bridge of faith" between the party and the common man and expressed confidence that the BJP will win the trust of people in the upcoming assembly polls in five states.
Addressing the valedictory session of the BJP's national executive, Modi stressed that the BJP runs on the values of "Sewa, Sanklap aur Samparan (service, resolution and commitment)" and "does not revolve around a family", urging its members to work for people, Yadav said quoting the prime minister.
Yogi Adityanath's tables BJP's resolution
Following Nadda's speech, the chief minister of poll-bound Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath tabled the BJP's political resolution, touching various landmark initiatives taken by the Modi government.
Sharing the details of the resolution, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the resolution specifically mentions that "we shall ensure the party's victory in upcoming assembly elections". There is positive, energetic and unconditional support from the national executive to ensure the party's victory in upcoming assembly elections, she said.
The resolution was largely devoted to lauding Prime Minister Modi's leadership over a range of issues - from the COVID-19 vaccination programme to his stand on climate change - with Sitharaman asserting that his government has restored faith in governance in India and built the country's image abroad. India has played an active role in the domain of foreign policies and ensured that it is heard, she told reporters.
Oppositions acting out of "extreme hate"
The resolution condemned the opposition's "opportunistic" politics and its attempts to create fear during the pandemic. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh read out condolence messages for the party leaders who passed away.
The resolution said India is setting new standards of success globally under Modi but the opposition is solely acting out of "extreme hate", alleging that it was busy derailing the COVID-19 vaccination programme by making every effort and conspiracies and spreading disinformation.
"Opposition parties practised opportunistic politics. They never hit the road during the pandemic and confined themselves to Twitter to spread suspicion," she said in the briefing on the resolution. Asked if there was any reference to the recent by-election results, which have been a mixed bag for the party, Sitharaman said there was no specific discussion on them.
Farmers' protests
To a query on farmers' protests, Sitharaman said the government has made it clear time and again its willingness to talk to farmer unions and asked them to list their grievances on the three laws.
Farmer unions have been demanding that the government repeal the laws. The resolution also said a chapter of "security, peace and development" has opened in Jammu and Kashmir, noting that 2081 people lost their lives in terror incidents between 2004-14, when the Congress-led UPA was in power, while 239 citizens lost their lives between 2014-21. It also mentioned the development initiatives in the union territory and the completion of local body polls.
with PTI inputs