‘Andhera chatega, Suraj Niklega, Kamal Khilega‘ , as we the karyakartas of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) get ready to celebrate our 41st foundation day, we must remember this phrase of Shri Vajpayee as the nation is battling the darkness spread by the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time we are going to witness the new phase in the party’s history. The states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala will go for elections to decide their future. All the states specifically Kerala where I was fortunate to spend a significant amount of time are poised to give their support to the BJP-led NDA. Even as we prepare to have BJP enter a new phase in its long democratic history, it is important that we the BJP Karyakartas should be dedicated to guide the public in following the set of guidelines that can make India COVID-19-free. 

If we look at our history, we the karyakartas know how to overcome several hindrances, and form a robust footing in our nation’s political scenario. Today we must remember with pride the year of 1951 when Bharat Kesri Shyama Prasad Mukherjee formed the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), at a time when the Indian National Congress was the dominant pole of Indian politics. But we stood tall in face of challenges. We saw it in 1975, when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency on the country, when our tall leaders like Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani  along with many of our karyakartas were thrown behind bars for standing up for India’s democracy. 

 

I remember the glee of our opponents after the 1984 elections, when they basically wrote off the BJP from the scenario of Indian politics but their glee was temporary. Since then we have formed governments in the centre a total of five times, currently being the largest political party in India, both in terms of representation in parliament, and in terms of party membership, with our party ruling 12 states on our own and 5 states as an ally.  In Namma Karnataka, giants like our beloved Chief Minister Shri BS Yediuyrappa have toiled hard to build the blocks of our party, the result of which is us being the party of choice for the Kannadigas. Today we pledge to hold these blocks and strengthen them for the BJP to reach newer heights of success.