Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired the ruling BJP’s national executive meeting where the party resolved to strengthen the organisation to win nine assembly elections this year and the Lok Sabha elections next year. The PM held a road show in the capital before the BJP’s top decision making body met here this evening.

Briefing the media about the BJP President J P Nadda’s presidential address to the party national executive, senior leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “BJP chief J P Nadda said, “2023 is very important and we have to fight and win nine State elections this year and the general elections next year.”

Strengthen booths

“PM Modi gave the mandate that we should identify weak booths and strengthen them. In that exercise, about 72,000 booths were marked in 100 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country where the BJP was weak. But the party has already reached 1.3 lakh booths and touched ground workers and spread the message of the leadership and the policies and good governance,” said Prasad.

During the session, the delegates that include 35 Union Ministers, 12 Chief Ministers and 37 regional heads, proposals on political, economic and international affairs were discussed. The party also discussed the recently-concluded Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The BJP President highlighted the party’s impressive victory in Gujarat, labelling it “historic and unprecedented” and said in Himachal, where the party lost, the expectation to reverse the provincial tradition of changing governments in each election was not met.

During the session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoted a political resolution of the BJP to underline that the PM had been falsely targeted by the Opposition. But the Opposition campaign on various issues was negated by a series of court verdicts.

“Pegasus, Rafale, ED, Central Vista, Reservation, Demonetisation… these were topics on which the Opposition attacked the PM through baseless claims but the crushing legal response exposed the Opposition,” said the FM, citing a political resolution moved during the national executive. She said PM Modi is seen as an “incorruptible leader” who is working for the country’s interest and whose leadership has found respect globally. India’s image under his leadership has also been enhanced, she added.

UN reforms

Modi’s assertion that this is not an era of war during his telephonic talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin echoed in the G20 declaration at Bali and his push for United Nations reform has been recognised, she said.

The political resolution cited by the FM had been earlier moved in the national executive by the Law Minister Kiran Rijiju.