Country not yet Congress-free, BJP ideology should be all over, says Amit Shah

New Delhi: Seeking replacing of the "ideology" of Congress, BJP's new President Amit Shah asked cadres to work for expanding the party's reach with focus on states like UP, Bihar, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir where assembly polls are due in near future.

Addressing the BJP National Council on Saturday, he underlined that the party would not be in government for long unless its reach is expanded and exhorted all the ministers in Narendra Modi government to work for implementation of the party manifesto.

Shah, who is credited with getting BJP-led alliance 73 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, said, "for long Congress 'vichar' (ideology) has been pre-dominant in the country's politics. Now it is time to ensure that our 'vichar' (ideology) has an imprint on nation's politics".

He said the government would have to run efficiently to play a long innings and along with it, the party has its role of reaching to more and more people and states to carry the message of good governance.

Shah, a close confidante of Modi, slammed the former UPA government, saying it had left the country in bad condition as it had "failed on all fronts".

Referring to the recent Lok Sabha polls, the new BJP chief said in his maiden speech that the electoral verdict was "defeat of dynasty politics" and the "people rejected appeasement and votebank politics".

"When history is written, the former UPA government will be known as a government of scams," he said at the convention, which endorsed the decision to make him party chief. Shah lauded the efforts of party cadres in ensuring landslide victory in the recent Lok Sabha polls but said the "work of strengthening BJP in many places still remains".

He underlined that, "we cannot rule for long if party's reach does not expand."

Referring to the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Haryana, Shah said the party workers should focus on ensuring victory for the party on its own in all the states.

He then talked about other states like UP, Bihar, Delhi and Uttarakhand which would be having assembly polls in near future.

"We have had governments in these states... We need absolute majority in all these states.... We need to focus our energies to ensure victory in all elections, be it in panchayats or assemblies. We need to develop the habit of winning in all elections," the party chief told the assembly of leaders and cadres.

Talking about Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said the government in the "very sensitive state" had crossed "all limits of corruption" and people want a change.

Asking cadres from across the country to focus on the assembly election in the state that is due later this year, he said, "the state will see development only when BJP government is formed there."

In an apparent reference to Nehru-Gandhi family and Abdullah family, Shah said, "the two families have ensured that money does not reach the poor. We have to highlight this."

Turning to Haryana, he said one remembers "land scams" and "some faces" when the mention of the state comes. "There is a need to change the government in the state. We should see that BJP alone gets the majority," he said, adding any possibility of alliance would be seen later.

Shah said BJP should also work for getting absolute majority in Maharashtra where "the condition has become bad in the last 15 years" and the state has got the notoriety of being a state with maximum farmer suicides.

With regard to Jharkhand, the BJP chief appealed to the people there to give his party "one chance" with full majority so that the state can develop with the potential of immense resources, which go unutilised because of fractured mandate repeatedly.

Turning to UP, he said the law and order situation in the state is a matter of "serious concern" because of "biased" attitude of the Akhilesh Yadav government.

He alleged that law and order in the state is decided on the basis of "religion".

Noting that BJP has 73 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Shah said the party has "greater responsibility" than the state government in ensuring peace in the state. "We have to exercise restraint. But we have to spread awareness about the vote-bank and appeasement policy being followed by the state government."

Talking about Bihar where the party was ruling in alliance with JD(U) before they split last year, the BJP chief slammed JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar for allying with Lalu Prasad-led RJD.

"Nitish came to power by saying he was fighting against 'jungle raj' of Lalu Prasad. Now he has gone and sat in the lap of same Lalu. There is no shame. In politics, principles matter more than anything... We need expose this immoral alliance," he said.

In the next assembly elections, he said, BJP should work to get the majority on its own in all these states. "We will give you support but effort is yours," he said.

Shah told party workers that the party s victory marks the beginning of the end of the Congress era and lauded Modi as a leader in post-independence generation who has established himself as a harbinger of the golden era of good governance.

"The verdict of this election is a clear rejection of the politics of dynasty, appeasement and vote bank. It also is an undisputed triumph of the hope and aspirations of the people of India," he said reminding that BJP is the only non-Congress party to have come to power at the centre with an absolute majority of its own.

Good governance, he said, can be delivered only by ideology-inspired leadership.

"As we all know, ideological commitment has gone a long way in making our Prime Minister and all our Chief Ministers enviable icons of good governance. Let us resolve to march ahead as torch-bearers of our ideology," he said.

He wanted the party to contest polls at all levels as it helps in reaching out to people and asked the party workers to inculcate the "habit of winning".

In an hour-long presidential address, Shah said the need of the hour is to strengthen both the organization as well as the government and any laxity on one front will affect the other.

He said with BJP coming to power on its own at the Centre, the role of the party has changed and "so our mindset should also change and the party should act as a bridge between the people and the government".

He recalled the words of late RSS chief Guru Golwalkar that "if we work together with all our strength, it is victory all the way".

Noting that the party has to gain strength in several states including Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala, he said the party could not convert its votes into seats in many such states due to the weak organization.