BJP eyeing southern states, Bengal and Odisha: Amit Shah

Shah, during his speech at the workers convention from six Lok Sabha constituencies in South Kerala, made no mention of the appointment of a new party chief in the state.

BJP chief Amit Shah (File Photo | EPS)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP president Amit Shah today said the saffron party's mission would be complete only with the formation of its governments in Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.

Shah, who arrived here on a day's visit to gear up the party and to take stock of its preparations for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, said BJP's work would not be complete without forming governments in Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.

However, Shah, during his speech at the workers convention from six Lok Sabha constituencies in South Kerala, made no mention of the appointment of a new party chief in the state.

The post of the party president had fallen vacant after the appointment of incumbent Kummanam Rajasekharan as governor of Mizoram in May.

Referring to the party position in Kerala, Shah said the BJP was making "steady progress in the right direction," despite the political violence against its cadres unleashed by the ruling CPI-M.

Shah said the martyrdom of BJP-RSS workers would not become meaningful unless the CPI-M was rooted out of Kerala as it happened in Tripura and West Bengal.

Alleging that chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was responsible for the political violence in the state, Shah said 84 RSS-BJP workers had been killed in Kannur, the home district of Vijayan.

The BJP president also alleged that political clashes were not based on any ideology, and were state-sponsored killings.

"The BJP does not believe in retaliating violence with violence, but with development," he said.

Listing the various schemes and development projects initiated by the Narendra Modi government, Shah said NDA was able to provide a corruption free and transparent government to the country in contrast to the earlier Congress-led UPA regimes.

"The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completed four years in office. Even Opposition has not been able to level a single graft charge of one rupee against the government," he said.

"We have been able to provide a transparent government," he added.

Modi was able to enhance the pride of the country abroad, Shah said.

The large gathering and warm welcome the Prime Minister was getting in each country was actually not for him or the BJP, but for the 125 crore people of India, he said.

Earlier in the day, Shah also addressed a core committee meeting of the party's state unit.

According to party sources, the BJP has decided to launch several campaign programmes to counter the alleged false propaganda against the Centre by the rivals and also against CPI-M-led LDF government in the state.

Shah asked Kerala cadres to strive tirelessly to ensure that the party reaps maximum seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP has been trying to expand its influence in the southern state, which has been dominated by the CPI(M)-led Left Front and Congress-headed United Democratic Front for decades now, but with little success.

Though the saffron party's vote share shot up to 14 per cent in the 2016 assembly polls against six per cent in the previous elections, it could manage to win just one seat.