Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah urged thousands of party cadre to “uproot” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and to increasingly strive towards “replacing with saffron” the sole remaining “white spot” that currently characterises the Capital on the political map of northern India at a workers’ convention here on Saturday.
Formally setting the wheels in motion for the party’s campaign for the upcoming civic polls with convention events similar to that which preceded the BJP’s campaigns in the recently-concluded Assembly elections in five States, Mr. Shah took the opportunity at Ramlila Maidan to open a direct front against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the incumbent AAP Delhi government on issues ranging from corruption to its alleged failure at delivering on manifesto promises after coming to power.
‘Failed to keep promises’
Direct comparisons between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government at the Centre — including the ‘surgical strike’ in Pakistan — and that of Mr. Kejriwal’s at Delhi found multiple mentions in Mr. Shah’s 24-minute-long address to an estimated 65,000 booth-level workers.
These were in line with the party’s strategy to project the civic polls as a battle between what the BJP president termed were Mr. Modi’s “corruption-free and pro-poor” policies and overall image versus the “inherent corruption and failure to deliver on promises” of the latter.
Union Minister and former party president M. Venkaiah Naidu, BJP’s national organisation general secretary Ramlal, Union Ministers Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Vijay Goel, were also in attendance.
“I have been asked many times the secret to the spectacular success of the party in five State elections recently. There are many factors like the work of Modi ji ‘s government, his personality, his popularity, his pro-poor policies and the love of the people for the country. But I believe the biggest and most important factor is the BJP activist fighting at the booth level,” he said.
“In all these States, the campaign began with conventions like this one and the result is the spectacular win that the party has secured,” he further said.
Stepping stone
Pointing to a map of India near the stage, Mr. Shah said that while the country was being painted in “saffron”, Delhi continues to remain a “white spot”, and he asked party workers to ensure the BJP’s victory in the civic polls.
“After 2014, the BJP has won nearly everywhere, except Delhi and Bihar. Today, BJP workers will go back with a resolve to plug the gaps so that the BJP’s victory flag is unfurled in the national capital,” the BJP chief said, adding that a victory in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls guaranteed a victory in the Delhi Assembly elections.
