On February 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to focus their campaign on the party’s efforts for the poor, the nation’s progress, and its improved international status. He said that securing 370 seats would be a genuine homage to the party’s chief ideologue, Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
Mookerjee was a fierce opponent of the special privileges for Jammu and Kashmir guaranteed by Article 370. The item was removed in August 2019 by the Modi administration.
Speaking before the party’s convention began, he told a gathering of the BJP’s national office-bearers that all booth workers going forward should concentrate on polling places and make sure that each one receives at least 370 more votes for the party than it did in 2019.
According to BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde, who briefed reporters on Mr. Modi’s speech, the Prime Minister told the gathering that while the opposition will bring up “unnecessary and emotional issues” during the election, party members should stick to the topics of development, pro-poor policies, and the nation’s improving standing internationally.
According to Tawde, the party would begin outreach to recipients of several central government programmes on February 25.
Modi stated that he had led a government for about 23 years, including more than 12 years as the chief minister of Gujarat, and that no accusations of corruption have been made against him.
In his briefing, he said, “It’s been a ‘aarop mukt’ and a ‘vikas yukt’ period,” adding that no one had ever served for such a long time without receiving any taint.
