Modi says 'lotus' BJP's candidate for Lok Sabha, aims for 370 seats as tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he headed governments for nearly 23 years and there has been no allegation of corruption.

Published on: Feb 17, 2024, 15:37:04 IST

By HT News Desk

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the BJP's poll symbol ‘lotus’ is the party's candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, exhorting members present at the BJP's national convention to ensure its win.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by BJP President JP Nadda on his arrival at the party's two-day National Council meeting, at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi on Saturday. (ANI)

Reiterating BJP's goal to win at least 370 Lok Sabha seats, PM Modi said it will be a true tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the Jana Sangh founder who was strongly opposed to Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which granted special autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

“PM Modi said that the BJP and the NDA will win 370 and 400 seats (in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections), respectively. He said that the BJP will pay tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee by winning 370 seats,” BJP leader Vinod Tawde said at a press conference.

Mookerjee believed that Article 370 was a temporary provision that hindered the full integration of Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Union. He argued that it created a separate set of laws for the state, which he believed perpetuated separatism and hindered the development of a unified India.

The Modi government scrapped Article 370 in August 2019, a move upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

“Our campaign will be centred around development, and the welfare of the poor and putting the nation at a place of pride in the world, we need to take these things to the people,” Tawde added.

Prime Minister Modi arrived at Bharat Mandapam earlier today to attend the two-day national convention of the BJP in Delhi. BJP national president JP Nadda welcomed the Prime Minister on his arrival. PM Modi then visited an exhibition held at the Bharat Mandapam.

Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior leaders also arrived for the convention.

Tawde said the prime minister told the meeting that the opposition would raise "unnecessary and emotional issues" during the polls but party members should stick to the issues of development, pro-poor policies and the country's rising global standing.

"It's been an 'aarop mukt' and a 'vikas yukt' period," he said in his briefing, noting that there has been no such instance of such a long tenure of anyone not drawing any taint.

(With PTI inputs)

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