Ensure party does not lose a single election in 2023: Nadda to BJP cadre ahead of 9 state polls
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, January 16
The BJP National Executive meeting began in the national capital on Monday with party chief Jagat Prakash Nadda exhorting attending leaders to “buck up to win each of the nine state elections due this year as a prelude to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”
Addressing the delegates with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top union ministers, CMs and deputy CMs of BJP-ruled states in attendance, Nadda said “2023 is very important for the BJP.”
“BJP president exhorted all members to be ready with full commitment to win all nine state polls this year as a prelude to next general election. He said we are not to lose any state. The BJP chief said we must consolidate the states where we are in power and boost our prospects where we are not in power,” BJP veteran and spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said after Nadda’s inaugural address at today’s meeting.
BJP chief gave a lowdown of organisational strength of the BJP in the wake of prime minister asking the party to strengthen 100 booths in each Lok Sabha segment and signalled poll preparedness.
As against the target of strengthening 72000 booths, the party has reached 1.3 lakh, Nadda informed the second highest decision making body of the BJP after the parliamentary board with the BJP set to strengthen booths as its victory recipe across states on the lines of Gujarat.
Among challenges flagged by Nadda today were the difficult ground in Telangana where the party was working hard.
Nadda also hailed the Gujarat win of the party as historic and extraordinary and asked other state units to “learn from prime minister’s tireless pursuits, Gujarat unit’s hard work and micro management of booths to ensure victory.”
Himachal Pradesh loss of the BJP also came up in Nadda’s inaugural speech today with the party chief, who hails from the state, saying, “We had to change the tradition of anti- incumbency but we could not.”
Nadda however mentioned favourably the fact that as against past losses where the vote percentage margin was always around 5 per cent this time it was less than 1 pc.
“BJP chief mentioned that the party lost Himachal elections by just 37000 votes,” said Prasad elaborating the nuances of Nadda’s speech.
As the way forward and government’s strengths which need to be taken to the people, Nadda said the government through policy interventions “was reaching the last man standing” in the spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and along the lines of Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s teachings.
The free food grain scheme, direct benefit transfer scheme and other measures are helping inclusive and pro poor growth, Nadda said with the venue of the meeting decorated with BJP’s pledge of “garib kalyan.”
Nadda noted in his speech that the world was hailing India’s achievements, with US President Joe Biden lauding India’s Covid management under PM Modi; Russian President Vladimir Putin hailing India’s independent foreign policy; and PM Modi managing to get a temporary ceasefire declared during the Russia-Ukraine war to rescue 72000 students.
Nadda also listed national achievements under PM Modi towards self-reliance and said India surpassed the UK as the fifth largest economy in the world last year.
“BJP chief mentioned that India was now the second biggest mobile manufacturer in the world; third largest automobile maker; and the fourth largest start-up ecosystem globally,” said Prasad about Nadda’s speech which gave the policy direction to cadres to follow.
Nadda also flagged India’s progress towards the five pledges PM gave in his Independence Day speech last year and said the renaming of Raj Path as Kartavya Path, installation of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s statue, the construction of Statue of Unity were top examples of India abandoning the last vestiges of slavery and colonialism as pledged by the PM on August 15, 2022.
“In the direction of another pledge the PM gave, of taking pride in Indian heritage, we are celebrating our heritage like never before. Kashi Vishwanath Dham has been dedicated to the nation, so has Mahakal in Ujjain and Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya is progressing at a fast pace with traditional materials being used and bare minimum use of steel and iron,” Prasad quoted JP Nadda as having told the meeting participants.
Nadda also announced that the party would mark the birth anniversary of Swami
Dayanand Saraswati in a big way on February 13 this year.
Importantly, Nadda told the gathering that the BJP government had given due recognition to SCs, STs and OBCs and flagged the example of India’s first tribal woman President and several constitutional position holders from marginalised sections.
The BJP chief also flagged Government’s Make in India push as a major electoral issue going forward and said self-reliance in defence was growing and importsdeclining “unlike during Congress-led UPA when defence deals meant deals within deals and commissions.”
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Karnataka, MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Telangana go to polls this year.
