With a pledge to bag all 14 lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand and pave way for the BJP at the Centre, former Minister Ravindra Rai on Saturday took charge as State BJP president.
Top party leaders, including former Chief Minister Arjun Munda, outgoing president Dineshananda Goswami and former MP from Ranchi Ramtahal Chaudhary, were present on the occasion.
Rai told the gathering that target of voters should be fixed for the coming elections. “I will try my best that coordination among party workers and leaders does not get tarnished. Giving stability to State politics will be my priority. People are frustrated and this needs to be addressed,” said Rai.
“I expect that I will continue to get support of those leaders also who could not attend this programme due to prior engagements,” he added, without taking names. Former Deputy CM Raghuwar Das and former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha were not seen during the celebrations.
The BJP chief added, “We must cross last year’s figure of BJP votes in the coming elections and fix a target of at least 50 lakh votes this time.”
Munda said BJP cannot go against its principles. “We will make a comeback in the State, (but) not like others who are trying to form the Government,” he said.
The former Chief Minister said States where the BJP is in power have shown positive signs. “We should also work hard and try to form Government in Jharkhand to do some positive work for the people’s welfare,” he said.
Senior party leader Ramtahal Chaudhary also said leaders should try to win the hearts of party workers as without their support, one cannot even think of coming to power. Confidence of workers also needs a boost as they are not happy with the leadership.
The gathering was all praise for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and expected a hat-trick in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, in the steps of Gujarat.