BJP President Amit Shah sounds poll bugle, sets 'absolute majority' target

New Delhi:With the forthcoming Assembly elections set to be a reflection on the Narendra Modi government and the BJP under new leadership, newly-appointed party chief Amit Shah asked cadres to be ready for the polls as he set a target of “absolute majority” for the party in the coming Assembly elections in four states.

Reminding cadres that the country was not yet “Congress-free,” Mr Shah asked the cadres to work towards expanding the party’s ideology and its reach, including in states like UP, Bihar, Mahara-shtra, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The BJP national council on Saturday ratified Mr Shah as the new chief, who also stressed on coordination between the organisation and the BJP-led Central government. Mr Shah asked the state units to take every election seriously, even at the panchayat level.

For poll bound Maharashtra, while the projection of a CM candidate remains a contentious issue between the BJP and ally Shiv Sena, Mr Shah indicated that his party wants to lead the show. “We have to form a strong government under the leadership of the BJP. For long, the Congress vichar (thought) has been predominant in the country’s politics. Now, it is time to ensure that our vichar has an imprint on the nation’s politics. The country is yet to be rid of the Congress,” Mr Shah said.