With focus on grassroots, BJP rallies behind ‘Gramodaya to Rashtrodaya’ vision

Guwahati, April 30: Along with highlighting what it termed as the achievements of the NDA government, the ruling BJP is also focusing on four core ideological principles of ‘Gramodaya, Sarvodaya, Antyodaya, and Rashtrodaya’ in the campaign for the May 2 and May 7 panchayat polls.

In an interaction with The Assam Tribune on Tuesday, State BJP chief spokesperson Manoj Baruah exuded confidence about the ruling alliance’s prospects in the polls.

“Our campaign is going on in full swing under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and State unit president Dilip Saikia and the public response has been unprecedented and spontaneous. The panchayat elections are being held in 27 administrative districts of the State, barring those under the Sixth Schedule. The Chief Minister will undertake at least one election rally in each of the 27 districts. Similarly, Dilip Saikia will also address more than 50 rallies by the time the campaign concludes. One minister and one senior office-bearer have been appointed as the in-charge and co-in-charge in each district to coordinate the party’s electioneering,” Baruah said.

The BJP has formed local coordination committees with its allies AGP and Rabha Hasong Joutha Sangram Samiti for joint campaign programmes.

“Our campaign is multi-pronged. We are presenting a report card of our government’s performance highlighting the achievements made in different sectors during the last 10 years, with special focus on rural development. In addition, this time our party is also going to the masses by focusing on four core ideological principles – Mahatma Gandhi’s Gram Swaraj or Gramodaya, Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s Sarvodaya, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya’s Antyodaya, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi’s Rashtrodaya. This shows our commitment to building a strong and sustainable rural economy and society,” Baruah said.

The BJP leader claimed that rural Assam has witnessed progress under the current dispensation.

“Besides development in various sectors, there have also been remarkable improvements in the implementation of schemes. Let me just cite two examples. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) was earlier plagued by corruption. Our government not only increased the allocation to the beneficiaries under the scheme but also started direct transfer benefit (DTB), thus plugging loopholes and eliminating commission raj. Likewise, there was hardly any procurement of paddy by government agencies in Assam earlier. Now producers here are getting amounts even higher than the MSP for their paddy. The rural electorate of Assam is happy with the BJP’s performance. We believe the Opposition will fail to make an impact in these polls,” Baruah said.

He added, “Our fight is to win all the Anchalik Panchayat (AP) and Zila Parishad (ZP) seats, but it would not be prudent for me to make claims about any specific number. For us, all elections, from panchayat to Parliament, are crucial.”