Shah asks workers to ensure 50 pc vote share; asserts BJP won't allow anyone to abolish reservations

BJP chief Amit Shah today asked party workers to ensure an over 50 per cent vote share in the next Lok Sabha elections so that the party can emerge victorious even if opposition parties come together.

On a one-day visit to Uttarkhand, Shah said the party should aim to govern the country from Parliament to Panchayat for the next five decades.

Accusing the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress of trying to spread misinformation, Shah said the BJP will not abolish reservations not will it allow anyone to do it.

He claimed the BJP government at the Centre had worked for the welfare of Dalits and weaker sections while the Congress during its nearly 70-year-long rule had only cheated them.

"The country is on the verge of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the battle of ideologies that is on in the country, our ideology is about nationalism and promoting our culture. We want to restore our ancient glory. This is a tough and challenging task, which we have taken up knowingly," the saffron party chief said addressing workers in the state capital.

There was a time when elections in the country used to be a Congress versus others affair but now it is BJP on one side and its opponents on the other, Shah said.

"It we can achieve a vote share of 50 per cent, even if all the opponents unite, we cannot to be defeated," Shah said.

We also have to stabilise our leadership and ensure our dispensations from the Parliament to the Panchayat level, he added.

Lauding party workers active on social media, Shah claimed rival Congress was using "paid workers" to fight its battles.

Asserting that BJP stood with the weaker sections, Shah said the party would not allow any dilution of the SC/ST protection act adding the legislation would only be strengthened further.

Earlier in the day, Shah met Gayatri Peeth Shantikunj head Pranava Pandya and Swami Satyamitraananda of Bharat Mata temple in Haridwar as part of his party's 'Sampark se Samarthan' outreach.

Shah apprised the spiritual leaders of the Narendra Modi government's work at the Centre and requested their support in spreading awareness about these among the masses.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and senior BJP leaders accompanied Shah.

Both spiritual leaders, Pandya and Satyamitraananda, have a considerable following.

Shah has been meeting eminent individuals across the country as part of his party's 'Sampark se Samarthan' (Contact for support) initiative.

Later, Shah reached state capital Dehradun, where he held discussions with party leaders.