Zee Media Bureau/Hemant Abhishek
New Delhi: After the Bharatiya Janata Party`s unprecedented victory in the General Elections 2014, it was time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to recognise the sweat and toil put in by the party workers to ensure this win.
Modi visited the BJP office at 11 Ashoka Road on Sunday to reward party workers with an incentive equivalent to three-months` salary in recognition of their hard work.
Reports stated that the office workers who will be getting the incentive include office staff, personal assistants, computer operators and cleaning staff.
A sentimental Modi recalled his days spent in the party office and reiterated that if the BJP had to pass the test of commitment to public welfare, people would hail it.
“When Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee had won, I had set chairs in this office,” said Modi and added, “Today I have come here seeking new energy and inspiration. Bhandari, Kushabhau Thakre have done tapasya (penance) here. It is an inspirational seat for all workers. I had never imagined that I would receive such an honour.”
Modi also described the invitation to Saarc leaders for his swearing-in as a "right decision at the right time" and said his first major foreign policy initiative had sent out a message to the world about India`s strength.
Modi reiterated that with great power comes greater responsibility and told the BJP workers that the nation had invested its faith in the party. The party had to repay this trust, he averred and added, "The last government left India disappointed and disillusioned, but the voter was 10 steps ahead. I had said this is an election of expectations. And it is important that the expectations are met and India is not disappointed."
Reminiscing his journey through elections, Modi said, “When Tony Blair won his first election in the UK, there was a book which documented his victory and strategies. When Barack Obama won, technology and social media was used to the hilt. But nowhere in the world is election held on such grand scale as India.
“Whenever any world leader calls me and I tell them that 550 million people voted, they are flabbergasted. The scale is so grand, but this has not been represented before the world in the the way that it should be—neither by the Election Commission nor by the political parties. An illiterate man in village came out in 44 degrees heat to participate in the electoral process—social scientists should conduct researches on such tangents.”
“The world should know that democracy is in our DNA, genetic system,” he quipped.
Modi stressed on the need to document the Herculean effort of party workers and the importance of telling the world how India voted for a change. He said, "People only discuss post-Emergency politics, but big changes in state and Central elections aren`t talked about much."
"This victory is a big festival of celebration of people`s mandate. It is a story waiting to be told to the world. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari had there not been a common strong undercurrent the mandate that the nation gave to the BJP wouldn`t have been so large. People have seen the governance minutely, and they understand the need for a majority to run the government well. Political scientists, electoral analysts and pundits should document this and present it to the world. This will also be good for the country," he added.
Perhaps to underline the importance of the workers in this victory, Modi told them, “The 2014 election results will change the 21st century.”
Prime Minister`s meeting with party workers was believed to be an attempt to ensure that organisational strength of the BJP is not weakened in the wake of massive mandate the party received in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
Sources said that the Prime Minister has also asked the party leaders to prepare for assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana later this year and Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar next year.
Besides, he also asked them to be prepared for the assembly elections in 2016 in states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry.
