TURA: Buoyed by the win in the Assam Assembly election last year, BJP senior leader Ram Madhav said on Saturday the lotus will bloom from Manipur to Meghalaya.
Madhav, who was in Tura on Saturday to inaugurate the party’s regional office at Danakgre as well as attend the state executive meeting, said, “We have a historic mandate for the first time in Assam and the BJP juggernaut will ride from Manipur all the way to Meghalaya. Since long we have had some presence in the State, particularly Garo Hills, and now we are finally here to stay.”
While the assembly election in Manipur is next month, that for Meghalaya is scheduled for early next year.
The BJP’s national general secretary in charge of the North East, while addressing one of the biggest gatherings in Garo Hills, said the party will make its presence felt in every village of Meghalaya, particularly Garo Hills where it always had had a presence.
Supporters and party workers came from Khasi and Jaintia Hills for the meeting.
Interestingly, the Garo Hills regional office has come into being months ahead of the head office in Shillong. BJP state president Shibun Lyngdoh, while chairing the inaugural function of the party office, said efforts are being made to establish a party office in every district. “In two months’ time we will open party office in Shillong and in the coming months more district offices will come up,” said Lyngdoh.
Three sitting BJP MDCs of Garo Hills, Bhupendra Hajong, Sofiur Rehman and Righteous Sangma, a delegation of elected MDCs from the Khasi-Jaintia region, namely Shillong’s Laitumkhrah MDC Neil Antonio War, Jaintia Hills MDCs Marki Mullieh and Violet Lyngdoh, who defected from UDP, were also present.
“Today we are building a house for the BJP in Garo Hills because we have come to stay permanently. This is the party of India’s present. It will also be the party of the future because of our Prime Minister’s pro-poor policies,” said Madhav.
This was his maiden visit to the Garo Hills.
Lauding Modi for focusing on the North East, Madhav said regular visits by central ministers to monitor the development projects were a clear indication of Modi’s keen interest to accelerate development.
Endorsing Madhav’s statement, national spokesperson of the BJP and in-charge of Meghalaya Nalin Kohli said it was part of Modi’s ‘Sabke Saath, Sabka Vikas’ road map.
“BJP has always given extra attention to the development of the northeastern region since the time of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Prime Minister Modi has said total development of India is possible only with the development of the North East,” said Kohli.
