NEW DELHI, June 13 - Hailing the victory in the Assembly elections in Assam, the BJP is now eyeing neighbouring Northeastern states, with the party today asserting that it is all set to expand its footprints in the region. After passing a resolution �BJP is the Party of Bharat�s Present� at the end of the two-day national executive held at Allahabad, the BJP said it will be the �Party of Bharat�s Future� and that Assam is the gateway to the entire Northeast. �The landslide victory in Assam has given us a great opportunity to expand our footprint in the entire northeastern region,� the resolution said.
�Northeastern region is important for us electorally in local terms; development-wise in national terms; and pivotal in international strategic terms. Keeping the greater significance of the region and with a view to promoting all-round development, the BJP has constituted the North East Democratic Alliance � NEDA. An alliance of the non-Congress political parties from the eight Northeastern states, NEDA will emerge as a powerhouse of faster development of the entire region. It will also help us expand the party in the entire region,� it said.
The resolution that devoted several paragraphs on the party�s victory in Assam said it is evident in the victory and the formation of the BJP government in Assam and in the positive growth of vote percentage in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal.
�These results have strengthened the all-encompassing expansion of the party in the states. The Bharatiya Janata Party expresses its gratitude towards the faith of the people of Assam who have trusted Prime Minister Narendra Modiji�s development oriented vision and policies of overall welfare of the people of this country,� the Allahabad resolution said.
�As important as the problem of underdevelopment is the threat of demographic invasion the State has faced from an unchecked infiltration from neighbouring Bangladesh for decades on. It has reached Himalayan proportions and signalled a death-knell to Assam�s identity, culture and traditions besides severely affecting the State�s economy and people�s livelihood,� it said.
The BJP resolution also attacked the Congress party stating that successive governments have turned a blind eye to this problem with an eye on their vote banks. The then ruling party in the State and its chief minister have gone to the ridiculous extent of denying existence of even a single infiltrator in the State, it said.
�The BJP has gone to the people promising them freedom from poverty, backwardness and underdevelopment; and security from infiltrators and their champions and apologists. People gave a wholehearted mandate in its favour. That is why the National Executive doesn�t look at this victory in the Assembly elections as just another electoral victory alone. It signifies a major ideological victory for the party,� the resolution said.
�We dedicate this victory to Ma Kamakhya, river Brahmaputra and Srimanta Sankaradeva � the symbols that epitomise Assamese identity. The National Executive also reassures the people of the State that all efforts would be made to fulfil these promises that have a major bearing on the very future and existence of the State,� it said.
�The mandate of Assam calls for a very special mention. Assam holds an important place in the minds and hearts of millions of BJP workers across the country. Humbled by the love and affection showered upon the BJP National Executive wishes to offer its heartfelt gratitude to the people of the State for handing us down such a mammoth mandate,� it added.
In Assam, the BJP and its alliance partners got two-thirds majority with 86 seats, whereas the BJP itself won in 60 seats. �Together we have got 44 per cent votes which is eight per cent more than the votes we got in 2014 Lok Sabha elections,� said the resolution passed at the session, which was attended by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and other senior leaders of the State BJP.
�Our alliance partners, the Asom Gana Parishad and the Bodo People�s Front, too have added their might to the campaign of �Congress-mukt Assam � an Assam freed from Congress�. It is the united face of all those parties, which stood for saving Assam from the clutches of underdevelopment and infiltration, that has given enthusiasm and confidence to the people of the State. The National Executive appreciates the efforts of the alliance partners and calls upon them to help the BJP-led government fulfil its promise of good governance and secure Assam,� the resolution said.
