NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took a swipe at Congress and regional parties dominated by families, drawing a sharp contrast with BJP, which he said derives its strength from the commitment of its cadre.
Addressing the valedictory session of BJP’s national executive here, the Prime Minister said BJP was distinct because it was defined by “sewa, sankalp aur samarpan (service, resolve and commitment)” and does not “revolve around a family”.
The remarks came in the lead-up to the face-off with Congress and regional parties like Samajwadi Party and ally-turned-bitter rival Akali Dal in the elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The Prime Minister asserted that BJP will win the elections because its workers have remained aligned with the concerns of the people.
Chief ministers and BJP presidents of poll bound states Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur gave presentations on the upcoming assembly elections at the meeting.

A similar presentation was given by BJP’s Punjab unit president Ashwani Sharma, who noted that the state organisation has worked to fight on all assembly seats there in the upcoming polls. Party general secretary and Union enviornment minister Bhupender Yadav maintained that there were no alliance talks in Punjab currently.
“If BJP is growing stronger, it is not because of Modi but due to the toil of the committed workers of the party,” Yadav quoted the PM as having said at the session.
The executive saw the party striking a confident note on the economy, adopting a combative posture on farmers and UP CM Yogi Adityanath moving the political resolution, in what confirmed his growing stature in the saffron hierarchy.
“In his address, PM Modiji gave a big mantra to the party workers that they should become a bridge of faith between the common man and the party, while referring to the party’s history of sustained engagement with the issues close to the common man of the country,” said Yadav while briefing media about the salient points of the PM’s 50 minute-long speech, the highlight of the marathon sitting.
Yadav said the PM urged the party members to continue working with the spirit of serving the people, which has been central to BJP’s expansion across the country.
Modi referred to the welfare work done by BJP workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it reflected the party’s commitment to humanity and focus on serving the people. He expressed gratitude to the people of the country for giving a “full majority democratic government” due to which India has been able to deal with internal and external issues assertively and has been “winning laurels across the world”.
Modi also spoke about a new initiative of Kamal Pushp launched on the Namo App for paying tributes to all party workers who devoted their entire life to the party. He asked party members to be in touch with veteran workers, saying a lot could be learnt from them.
Sources said Modi also mentioned BJP’s win in the Telangana bypolls, its improved performance in the Ellenabad assembly byelection in Haryana and local body polls in Tamil Nadu besides the improved vote share in an Andhra bypoll to assert that it shows growing acceptance of the party’s development agenda.