PM Modi gives 'Ajeya Bharat, Atal BJP' slogan as BJP sounds poll bugle for 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the party workers to reach out to the masses with the NDA government's welfare schemes in preparation for 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Modi, who chaired the national executive of the BJP here in the national capital, also gave a slogan 'Ajeya Bharat, Atal BJP' as a tribute to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died last month.

The new slogan, 'Ajay Bharat, Atal BJP', means an India which is victorious and cannot be subjugated by anyone and a party which is committed to its principles, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said briefing the media about Modi's speech in the closed-door meeting.

Attacking the opposition for their bid to form a 'united front' against the NDA for upcoming general elections, Modi said it's vindication of his government that people who don't see eye to eye are thinking of coming together and forming a grand alliance.

Hinting at differences within the opposition for choosing a prime ministerial candidate for 2019, Modi said no one is ready to Congress' leadership, not even small parties.

Describing his vision for the country, the prime minister said, "I want the country to be affluent, but its bedrock should be simplicity."

The party's national executive also passed a political resolution that vowed to return to power again in 2019 with a bigger mandate than that of 2014, saying the opposition has no leader, no strategy and no vision while the ruling party has no such dearth.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the resolution introduced by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh pledged to make a "New India" by 2022 and was passed unanimously by the National Executive.

"Today we have the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah. That is the reason the BJP is ruling 19 states. We have over 350 MPs and 1,500 MLAs. Besides these, we are present in every local body and municipal corporations. We are confident of returning to power in 2019 with more brute majority," Javadekar quoted Rajnath Singh as saying.

The executive, which comprises key party leaders from across the country, in the resolution asserted the government had progressed a lot in building a new India by 2022, which was a "resolve" of Modi, and expressed the confidence that it will be realised.

The government is working with "Sabka saath, sabka vikas" and Modi has an approval rating of over 70 per cent, something which is unprecedented for a leader after four years in power, Javadekar said.

On internal security, the resolution said the Naxalism-affected region has shrunk by over two-thirds under the BJP rule while the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) has been lifted from many parts of the north-east region due to return of peace.

"A foundation for development cannot be laid without internal security," it said.