- Monday, February 24, 2025
The Hindu nationalist party, which was set up on April 6, 1980, and is the world’s biggest political outfit today, won only two seats in the 1984 election.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (6) greeted members of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the occasion of the outfit’s 45th foundation day and said it has become the country’s preferred party and expressed confidence and the people will elect it for another term in this year’s election, enabling it to build on the “ground covered in the last decade”.
Modi, who was campaigning for the upcoming election in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said on social media that the country’s youth see the BJP as a force that can fulfil their aspirations and provide leadership to the nation in the 21st century.
He also claimed that the BJP has freed the country from the culture of corruption, cronyism, casteism, communalism and vote-bank politics, which he alleged was the hallmark of those who governed India for the longest time, taking an indirect dig at the opposition Indian National Congress.
Read: Modi’s BJP mocks opposition Congress’ poll manifesto: ‘Rahul Gandhi’s holiday itinerary’
Modi made a series of posts on X, saying in English and Hindi, “Today, on the Sthapana Diwas of @BJP4India, I extend my greetings to all fellow Party Karyakartas from across the length and breadth of India. I also recall with great reverence the hardwork, struggles and sacrifices of all those great women and men who built our Party over the years. I can say with great confidence that we are India’s preferred party, which has always served with the motto of ‘Nation First.’”
Be it in the Centre or the states, our Party has redefined good governance. Our schemes and policies have given strength to the poor and downtrodden. Those who were left on the margins for decades found a voice and hope in our Party. We have worked towards providing all-round…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 6, 2024
In another tweet, he added, “It is a matter of great joy that @BJP4India has made a mark for its development oriented outlook, good governance and commitment to nationalistic values. Powered by our Karyakartas, our Party embodies the aspirations and dreams of 140 crore Indians. The youth of India see our Party as one which can fulfil their aspirations and provide leadership to India in the 21st century.”
“Be it in the Centre or the states, our Party has redefined good governance. Our schemes and policies have given strength to the poor and downtrodden. Those who were left on the margins for decades found a voice and hope in our Party. We have worked towards providing all-round development which has boosted ‘Ease of Living’ for every Indian,” said another post by the prime minister.
“Our Party has also freed India from the culture of corruption, cronyism, casteism, communalism and vote bank politics, which was the hallmark of those who ruled the nation for the longest time. In today’s India, emphasis is on clean and transparent governance which ensures the fruits of development reach the poor without any discrimination,” he said in another.
“We are also proud to be an integral part of the NDA, which manifests a perfect harmony between national progress and regional aspirations. The NDA is a vibrant alliance, encapsulating India’s diversity. We cherish this partnership and I am sure it will get even stronger in the times to come.
“India is all set to elect a new Lok Sabha. I am confident that the people are going to bless us with another term so that we can build on the ground covered in the last decade. I also convey my best wishes to all our BJP and NDA Karyakartas as they are working among people and elaborating on our agenda,” Modi further added in his tweets.
JP Nadda, the national president of the BJP, said in a Hindi tweet that he hoisted the party’s flag at its headquarters in New Delhi and paid homage to the statues of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, two of the party’s stalwarts (in the days of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the BJP’s predecessor).
He said, “The inspiring journey of the organisation is adorned with the hard work, sacrifice and dedication of our senior leaders and millions of workers.” Nadda also lauded PM Modi saying the country was seeing universal progress under his leadership.
The BJP was founded on April 6, 1980, succeeding the Janata Party, and former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was its first president, serving between 1980 and 1986 when Lal Krishna Advani, a more hardline leader, took over and the party’s ideology saw a shift.
The BJP, which bagged mandates in 2014 and 2019 that would enable it to form a government by itself in New Delhi, had won only two seats in 1984, when it contested the national election for the first time. Today, it is the world’s biggest political party with a membership figure of 180 million.
The first time the BJP came to power was in 1996 when Vajpayee became the prime minister for 13 days. He became the PM again in 1998 but his government collapsed again after 13 months. He finally served a full term in office between 1999 and 2004 when the BJP lost power before returning in 2014 under Modi.
Many political experts have tipped the BJP and the NDA as the favourite to retain power for a third term after this year’s election.
