Narendra Modi signals govt will work closely with BJP - Livemint

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, signalling that the new government will work closely with the party.

This is the first time that a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime minister has come on his own to address party workers to thank them for their efforts during a national election. During the interaction, Modi emphasized that the government must fulfil the responsibility given by the people.

“People not only vote for completion of their aspirations. People also vote for a party if they believe that honest effort was made by the government. We must not let the people lose confidence in us. It is our responsibility to fulfil the wishes of the people and we have to win the confidence of the people,” said Modi in his nearly 15-minute speech at BJP headquarters on Ashoka Road in the national capital.

Modi said the people have given a clear mandate to the BJP. “In this election, where 550 million people have voted, people have risen above caste lines and geographical boundaries to give this mandate,” he said.

The BJP won 282 seats in the Lok Sabha while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 336 seats.

Modi is trying to use the party as an instrument for the government and the move to directly speak to party workers is to ensure that they do not get complacent after the Lok Sabha victory but continue to work hard for the party, an expert said.

“This is an attempt to strengthen the government through party and also to make the party take the message of the government to the people. He wants to build an organic relationship between the government and the party. This is the first time that a BJP prime minister has gone back to the party to thank the workers,” said Badri Narayan , an Allahabad-based political analyst.

Modi said that while the election victory had given the BJP the responsibility to govern the country, leaders and party workers must remain connected to the grassroots.

“I used to put chairs for the functions of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee . I never thought I will get the same honour one day. All of us were so busy during elections that we were unable to meet each other. I had told the organisers that I will come to meet the entire team which managed the elections,” Modi said.

The move to directly speak to party workers will increase Modi’s popularity with the cadre and other leaders will continue to remain on the periphery.

“The BJP is cadre-based party and Modi wants the cadre to continue to take the message of the government to the people,” Narayan said. “The problem with the Congress party, on the other hand, is that if party comes to power, government becomes the party and the organizational setup ceases to exist.”