With the BJP’s primary focus on expanding its organisational base and reach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked party’s Rajya Sabha MPs to put maximum effort in this regard.
With the BJP’s primary focus on expanding its organisational base and reach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked party’s Rajya Sabha MPs to put maximum effort in this regard. He stressed on bringing in the poor and weaker sections of the society into the party fold.
Earlier, party president Amit Shah asked RS MPs to adopt one Lok Sabha seat each where it had lost the last elections to help the party representative from that constituency win it in the next general elections.
Mr Modi also asked party leaders to be active on the social media and hailed the contribution, dedication and sacrifice of BJP’s karyakartas. He also asked party leaders to make the government’s “pro-poor” policies a success by highlighting them. “Whichever state you come from, you should raise its issues. You should play an effective role in associating all sections of society, especially the poor and deprived, with the party,” Mr Modi said in his valedictory address to a meeting of BJP Rajya Sabha members.
While briefing the media later, Union minister Ravishankar Prasad said the Prime Minister noted that the party had given RS MPs a platform of “distinct identity” and they must work to bring people from new areas into its fold.
This exercise was third in the series of interactions which Mr Modi and Mr Shah had with the party leaders to prepare them for coming Assembly elections in key states and also the 2019 general elections..
BJP’s Rajya Sabha members, including senior ministers like Arun Jaitley, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Manohar Parrikar and Mr Javadekar, will also adopt a constituency in the state they represent in the House.
In state like Gujarat and Rajasthan, where BJP won maximum number of Lok Sabha seats, the party will find a way for utilising its RS MPs services. These members would coordinate with the state unit and the government in states where BJP is in power to adopt a constituency.
“They have to work, campaign as if they are the Lok Sabha members from there. They have to take up party programmes and developmental schemes like Lower House members... They should make up for the party not having its MP from there,” Mr Shah said at the meeting.
Asked if the party will field them in the Lok Sabha elections if they worked well, Mr Javadekar avoided a direct reply, only saying the BJP believes in a “constant evaluation process”. The best candidate from there will be given ticket and the work by these Rajya Sabha members will stand them in good stead.
