In the ongoing National Executive Meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), BJP President JP Nadda's tenure was extended till June 2024.
Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also called for a bigger 2024 general elections victory.
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP swept the general elections and secured 282 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. It was the first time since 1984. In 2019 general elections, the BJP under Modi increased its tally even further to 303 seats. Now Shah is aiming for even more seats next year.
Shah told reporters that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, a former party president like him, moved the proposal of extending Nadda's tenure till June next year and the executive unanimously endorsed it. The widely expected development underlines the party's preference for continuity as it gears up for the all-important Lok Sabha polls next year, expected in April-May.
In 2023, nine assembly elections are scheduled to take places, including in key states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka. While Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are ruled by the Congress, Karnataka is ruled by the BJP.
With Nadda set to lead the party during the Lok Sabha elections, he will be following the footsteps of his predecessor Shah, whose tenure was also extended so as to allow him to spearhead the organisation during the 2019 polls.
Shah expressed confidence that the BJP, under Modi and Nadda, will achieve a bigger win than the last general elections. He lauded Nadda's leadership, saying he connected the party organisation with the service of people during the Covid-19 outbreak.
In separate developments, statements on India's presidency of Group of 20 (G-20) and the Modi's BJP-led Union government's schemes were also made at the BJP National Executive Meeting.
BJP leader and Minister of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday asserted that India's image has transformed globally in the last nine years of the Modi government.
Briefing reporters on the statement made by Jaishankar in the closed-door meeting, BJP Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda quoted Jaishanar as saying the world's view of India has changed in the last nine years. He said when the Covid pandemic broke, there were concerns that India will be one country which may not manage it but now the G-20 and the world in general is "full of admiration" as it not only dealt with the crisis but also reached out with help to other countries.
India used to depend on other countries during earlier crisis but it not only met the challenges of the pandemic on its own but also helped others, Jaishankar said.
Panda said BJP workers will in their individual capacity work to connect the society as the country hosts over 200 G20-related events over 50 places. It is an opportunity to connect the society and showcase India's progress and its rich heritage as delegates from not only the elite bloc of 20 leading economies but also many multilateral bodies like IMF will visit the country, he added.
During the convention, a statement on "garib kalyan" (ruling party's welfare policies) at the Centre and in states where it is in power was also made, with BJP Parliamentary Board member Sudha Yadav dismissing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism about concentration of wealth.
Gandhi keeps raising the same issue without looking at figures about crores of people benefitting from the government's welfare policies, she said, accusing him of making false claims.
The attention given to the SC, ST, poor and backwards in the last nine years is unprecedented, she said.
The statement on the welfare policies was made by Samrat Chaudhary, an OBC leader who heads the party's legislators in the Bihar legislative council.
Speaking to reporters on its content, Yadav said Modi had asserted that his government will be dedicated to the poor, deprived and backwards after he assumed office in 2014 and that he has worked to ensure it since then through a host of welfare policies.
"It was the Modi government under which the direct benefit transfer was used to help crores of the people receive money in their bank accounts even during the pandemic. Right from 'Har Ghar Jal', 'Housing for All' and the farmers' welfare policies, the Modi government has touched every segment of the society," she said.
From providing housing, electricity and water to the poor, it has launched numerous schemes to help different segments of the society. BJP governments in different states have also worked on these lines, she said.
(With PTI inputs)
