3600 kms border roads constructed: Nadda
*Modi, Jaishankar to address today
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 16: While recently two senior national BJP general secretaries BL Santosh (Organizations) and Tarun Chug, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir, claimed that Assembly elections will be held in the Union Territory in April-May, a document circulated today in the BJP National Executive meeting showed only four States as “Election Bound” where polls are due between March-May with no mention of J&K.
It was clear from agenda circulated at the meeting in New Delhi that the BJP didn’t consider J&K as “Election Going UT,” at least till April-May.
Four States which have been listed in the agenda as Election Going States in the BJP document include Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Karnataka. Elections are due in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland in March while polls are slated to be held in Karnataka in April-May.
A senior party leader admitted that excluding Jammu and Kashmir from “Election Going States” means that the BJP, at least for the present, doesn’t think that Assembly polls will be held in the Union Territory in April-May.
A copy of the agenda circulated at the BJP National Executive is in possession of the Excelsior.
Political Resolution adopted in the BJP National Executive also had no mention of political scenario in J&K.
Insiders said political report was taken by the BJP high command from presidents of only four States.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver valedictory address to the National Executive tomorrow afternoon while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will speak on ‘G20 & its importance to India’ in the morning.
BJP national general secretary (Organizations) BL Santosh, who addressed party meeting here on January 11, called upon the cadre to gear up for Assembly elections in April-May. Prior to him, BJP general secretary, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir, Tarun Chug had also made the similar statement.
In his address, BJP national president JP Nadda said the year 2023 is very important for the party and the National Executive should gear up to win elections in nine States.
Five other States which are scheduled to go to elections in November-December this year are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.
Referring to Defence sector, Nadda said 3600 kilometres border roads have been constructed while the Defence Minister during Congress Government had no intentions to do this.
“Our pledge of developed India is close to become reality,” he said.
Nadda underlined the importance of the nine State Assembly polls to be held this year in the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and asked the party’s National Executive to ensure it does not lose in any State.
Briefing reporters on Nadda’s address to the key BJP body, whose two-day meeting began here today, party leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the party president noted that the ongoing year was very important in the prelude to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The ruling party has been putting in place a number of exercises to strengthen its organisation to ensure that it comes back to power in 2024 at the Centre for a third term.
Nadda, in his closed-door address, lauded India’s progress under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government.
It has become the world’s fifth-largest economy, second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones, third-largest manufacturer in the auto sector while the highway being built every day has risen to 37 km from 12 km earlier, the party president said.
The country has also worked to empower the poor with a number of welfare schemes, including that of free grains, he added.
Nadda praised the party’s win in the recent Gujarat Assembly polls as “extraordinary and historic”, saying winning more than 150 seats in the 182-member assembly is a great achievement.
While the party lost in Himachal Pradesh to the Congress, the vote gap between the two parties was less than one per cent, he said.
The BJP leaders from Jammu and Kashmir who are attending the two-day National Executive meeting include Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh, UT chief Ravinder Raina, Ashok Koul, Organizing Secretary, Kavinder Gupta and Dr Nirmal Singh, former Deputy Chief Ministers, Priya Sethi, former Minister, Ali Mohammad Mir and Mohammad Rafiq Wani.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chug, Incharge Jammu and Kashmir and Dr Narinder Singh, national secretary, are in the meeting as national office bearers
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