Amit Shah re-elected as BJP President; Rajnath Singh congratulates him

Under him as the BJP president, the party performed exceptionally well in the Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, forming government on its own or in alliance.

Addressing his first public meeting after being re-elected as party president in the election-bound state, Shah said, “The TMC government’s appeasement policies are forcing the state police to stay silent”.

Goa was amongst the 20 states which had supported candidature of Shah during the election held in Delhi on Sunday morning.

In the gathering of senior party leaders, chief ministers and workers, two faces- that of LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi-were conspicuous by their absence.

Most of these polls are tough sells for the BJP, and particularly troubling for the party leadership, because they precede 2017’s critical Uttar Pradesh elections.

However, Shah and the BJP are being judged by a different yardstick. “I am confident the Party will scale newer heights under his leadership”, Modi tweeted after Shah was elected party chief unopposed for his first full 3-year term at the helm.

Blaming the Congress, the CPI-M led Left Front and the now ruling Trinamool of taking Bengal to destruction, Shah said only the BJP can usher in development as it pursued politics of development and nationality instead of indulging in vote-bank appeasement. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on the same day.

The former Union Minister who is now camping at New Delhi said that Shah’s re-election will help in increasing the party’s popularity in the North Eastern region including Manipur. “After 60 years of age, you should only focus on uplifting the society rather than being involved in day-to-day politics”, said the BJP President, who is now 51-year-old”, Shah was quoted as saying.

Mr Vijayakanth greeting Mr Shah gains significance as the BJP is making every attempt to retain its ally for the forthcoming state Assembly polls.

Rajnath Singh said: “He (Shah) has been an extremely successful party president”.

Party leader Siddharth Nath Singh hailed Shah for his organisational skills.