Even as the crisis relating to the resignation of party veteran lK Advani was over, the BJP State unit on Tuesday put up a united front with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and welcomed him for being anointed by the party president as chairman of the party’s campaign committee for 2014 general elections.
“Call him a role model or a mascot, the State BJP has resolved to rally round Modi and forge ahead in the State to reap success in the next general elections,” asserted State BJP president Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo after a meeting of the BJP executive body here.
The executive body meeting, after Singh Deo took over the charge of the State chief, adopted a resolution welcoming Modi for his new assignment as well as party’s national president Rajnath Singh for his bold decision. BJP national general secretary Dharmendra Pradhan asserted that the State executive body saw in Modi an alternative leader of the nation and reposed faith on his role as a general to take the party to a new height.
Stating that both the Central and State units of the party would emerge stronger and bolder with the elevation of Modi, BJP spokesperson Suresh Pujari told newsmen that it was decided to request Modi to embark on his national election campaign from Odisha during mid -October next. Hoping that the Advani crisis would be resolved soon, Pujari said the State executive, appreciating the patriarch’s valuable contribution for the BJP, had also adopted a resolution requesting Advani to withdraw his resignation and share the realistic feeling of the party men en masse for greater interest of the party.
To a question on possible alliance, Pujari reiterated that the State BJP would go it alone in the 2014 general elections. This was made amply clear by the State unit president Singh Deo during his address in the executive body in the presence of the State party in-charge Chandan Mitra.
Ridiculing Odisha Jan Morcha president Pyarimohan Mohapatra’s assertion that some progress has been made on forging an alliance with the BJP in the State for which he had positive discussion with the Central party leaders, Pujari said, “The BJP Central party leadership had not given any assurance to Mohapatra.” We are firm on going it alone in the next general elections. The Central party is with our decision, Pujari asserted.
He said that the executive body meeting which was presided over by president Singh Deo, deliberated various issues relating to strengthening the organisational structure of the party and the political situation and strategy to be taken in the next polls, particularly the ensuing elections to the urban bodies. He said the party adopted a resolution against the large scale corruption and irregularities by Central UPA Government pertaining to coal, 2G, lapses in national security, besides the BJD Government’s omissions and commissions.
He said that the party had asked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to come out clean by announcing CBI or a SIT probe under the guidance of the Supreme Court into the chit fund scam and make public the names of his Ministers and MlAs having nexus with the chit fund promoters.