BJP not an election machine; organisation a medium to serve people: PM Modi

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 4

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that for the BJP, its organisation is not the means to win elections but do ‘sewa’ (service) of the people.

Addressing a review meeting of the party’s ‘Sewa hi Sangathan abhiyaan’ launched during the coronavirus lockdown in the country, the Prime Minister said: “Political commentators often say elections are won on the strength of the organisation. They (political observers) view a party’s organisation within the ‘daayra’ (limitation) of elections but for the BJP, its ‘sangathan’ is not just a machine to win elections but help people.”

In the BJP, the organisation always means “taking everyone along, their prosperity and nation first”, the Prime Minister said while addressing the virtual conference in which BJP units from seven states, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi, made a presentation about welfare works during the nationwide lockdown      

Recounting the ‘saat sa’ (seven ‘Ss’) he had mentioned during a party meeting in Allahabad, PM Modi said the work done by the party during the lockdown further strengthened his views

“While watching the presentation I found all the seven elements—‘seva bhav’ (service) ‘santulan’ (balance), ‘sainyam’(self control), ‘samanvay’ (coordination), ‘sakaaratmakta’ (positivity), ‘sadbhavna’ (goodwill) and ‘samvaad’ (dialogue/communication),” he said  

Despite knowing the dangers involved, the BJP cadres worked selflessly. This was the very basis of formation of the BJP and its forerunner Jana Sangh, the PM said

“We in the BJP have always believed that politics is the path for service of people and not just power. The selfless service by BJP cadres during the lockdown has shown that. I feel proud that we are part of an organisation which believes in ‘seva’ and ‘smaarpan’,” he said attributing it to the ‘sanskaar; received from ‘tapasya’ of generations of party workers

He also appreciated party president JP Nadda’s gesture of providing food to 500 people every day from his home and the way the BJP developed itself into a digital edition, turned ‘aafat into avasar’ (calamity into opportunity) during the lockdown.

The BJP has always been all inclusive, he said, adding that the party has 52 Dalit MPs, 43 tribal and 113 from the backward class in Parliament.

Earlier, Nadda lauded the PM for giving direction to the country with bold decisions to battle the difficult period, like a timely lockdown and economic package which were appreciated by the world and also the WHO, the World Bank and the UN.

“You told us that we have to make this lockdown successful and ensure that no one goes hungry and do it with compassion,” he said, crediting the PM for giving the BJP the idea of digital communication.

“We did 4000 video conferences during the lockdown and reached 2.5 lakh workers. Through 700 audio bridges, we connected 70 lakh karyakarta and managed to activate the party to the grassroots,” Nadda said.

The party organised over 61 virtual rallies to mark the first anniversary of the Modi Government’s second term, and about 11.50 crore people attended them. As many as 7,549 video conferences and 690 press conferences were orgnaised to mark the occasion.

The party also held 1457 ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ abhiyaan dialogue.

As part of the BJP’s door-to-door campaign to publicise the highlights of the government’s first year, its workers contacted over 5.41 crore people.

The party provided meals to over 22 crore people and distributed around 80 lakh sanitisers and 2.5 crore face covers and worked to spread awareness about Aarogya Setu app and donation to the PM Cares fund, according to the BJP.

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