The BJP in the final day of its national executive meeting on Tuesday decided to extend the tenure of national president Jagat Prakash Nadda till June 2024. This means that the party will go to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls under the leadership of JP Nadda, said BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Ahead of the BJP's national executive meeting, sources had told on Monday had told ABP that he would get a term extension till the Lok Sabha polls. However, senior leaders remained tight-lipped on the matter. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the topic had not been taken up for discussion at the meeting on Day 1.
On Day 2 of the meeting, however, Nadda's extension was announced. Shah said the proposal to extend Nadda's term was put forth by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. "I am confident that under the leadership of Modiji and Naddaji, BJP will win an even bigger majority in 2024 and once again Modiji will lead the nation as the PM," Amit Shah said.
According to the Union Home Minister, the BJP's membership campaign was put on hold due to Covid. "It will be resumed this year," he said
"The whole world had to face the world's biggest pandemic. Food had to be delivered to many villages, patients had to be taken to hospitals... BJP took up the responsibility during Covid and performed its duty," Shah said.
Nadda on Monday said that the nine state assembly elections scheduled for this year are crucial in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He asked the party's national executive to make sure it does not lose any states.
Ahead of the BJP's meeting, PM Narendra Modi held a grand roadshow in Delhi -- from Patel Chowk to NDMC Centre, the venue of the meeting. The meeting was attended by numerous high-ranking officials, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Railways Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and his counterpart in Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, among others.
As many as 35 Union ministers, 12 chief ministers, 37 regional heads, and 350 party workers joined the PM at the national executive meeting.