BJP to bid adieu to 11 Ashoka Road, Amit Shah will strategise from new base

New Delhi: The BJP is all set to shift its headquarters from the demure tree lined 11 Ashoka Road complex, to a more modern ‘plush’ building 5 kms away.

According to an NDTV report, the stone laying ceremony of the new building will be held on August 18, and will be overseen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party chief Amit Shah. It is expected to come up on a two-acre plot on a street named after RSS mentor Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

The building plan for the new complex, reviewed and approved by the party chief himself, includes a variety of ‘smart building’ features such as the use of hollow bricks to keep it cool, solar panels and large bay windows for light. Rain-water harvesting and bio-toilets are also planned, in addition to a big national flag in the building precincts.

The building will be split across three blocks, where the central block is expected to be seven stories high, flanked by two other buildings, three stories high. It will also have separate offices for the Party president and other senior officials.

The complex will also be a bundle of contrasts- while the building on the whole will be modern and spacious, the interiors are expected to be ‘traditional and plush’.

The building will also ease parking woes- an underground parking of 200 cars.

Add to it a multi-cuisine eatery and a WiFi complex that will have 70 rooms, including two large conference halls and a digital library.

It will also be adaptable in catering to the Z+ security for the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers, one of the concerns that was held against the current party office in central Delhi.

As to what prompted the move, there are multiple versions. Some claim that it all goes down to space crunch, while others claim it to be an attempt by the current leadership to leave a legacy.

The fate of the single-storied mansion at 11 Ashoka Road though, remains unclear.