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BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Saturday held the first meeting with the party's newly appointed national office-bearers to discuss poll strategy and grassroots outreach, party sources said. The meeting focused on preparations for upcoming state assembly elections, grassroots mobilisation and communicating government initiatives to the public, the sources said. More meetings are scheduled later in the day, with state presidents, state in-charges and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states expected to attend, they said. The BJP announced a new national team under Nabin earlier this week. It comprises 65 office-bearers, with 51 new faces. The new team includes 13 national vice presidents, including former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and former RSS functionary Ram Madhav, while former Union minister Smriti Irani has been appointed as one of the eight national general secretaries. B L Santhosh has been retained as national general secretary (organisation) and Vi
With less than a fortnight to go for the polling day in Delhi, the BJP stepped up its campaign on Sunday as it organised 20 public meetings which were addressed by top leaders including Amit Shah, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Hardeep Puri and Smriti Irani. Over 100 organisational meetings and door-to-door campaigns were held by the party across the city, said a Delhi BJP statement. Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed a rally in Narela and call on the voters to bring back the BJP to power in Delhi. Party leaders Arjun Ram Meghwal, Anurag Thakur, Manoj Tiwari, and Ravi Kishan also addressed public meetings in different constituencies. BJP candidates conducted door-to-door campaigns in all 70 assembly constituencies, directly interacting with over 70,000 families, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, who addressed five organisational meetings and women's conference. AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal will "deceive" Delhi women just as he did in Punjab, but the BJP will serve them in D
BJP leader and former Union minister Smriti Irani addressed a public meeting in Okhla on Sunday, urging people to vote for the party's candidate Manish Chaudhary in the February 5 elections. Addressing a large gathering, Irani called on the people to press the 'lotus' symbol on the ballot on February 5. Irani, who is also scheduled to address a public meeting in Rohini later, criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for "failing to deliver' on key promises made to the residents of Delhi. She accused AAP of not providing basic services, such as clean drinking water and quality healthcare, despite these being central to their election promises. "AAP had promised the people of Delhi clean water and efficient healthcare services, but these promises remain unfulfilled," said Irani, adding, "The people of Delhi deserve better, and it is time to make a change." During her speech, Irani outlined the BJP's guarantees for the citizens of Delhi, highlighting key welfare measures that
The BJP on Thursday came down heavily on the Congress over the passage of a resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly seeking restoration of special status, and asked the party leadership if it stands for terrorism. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, senior party leader Smriti Irani also asked if the Congress-led "INDI alliance" stands against the "economic and constitutional interests" of Jammu and Kashmir as well the rights that the tribals, Dalits, OBCs, women and children received after revocation of Article 370. "What they seek is special status for themselves, not the people of Jammu and Kashmir," she said. The BJP is up in arms against the Omar Abdullah government after the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Wednesday passed the resolution asking the Centre to hold dialogue with elected representatives for restoration of special status of the erstwhile state. The Congress is not part of the Jammu and Kashmir government despite fighting the polls in ...
Observing that there is a lack of information about how much progress India has made, former Indian minister Smriti Irani on Monday said the financial prospects of the country have not been fully explored internationally. "I don't think the financial prospects of our country are fully explored internationally. India as an economy is looked upon from the myopia of the lens, let's say that gets discussed at Davos or that gets discussed at the (World) bank, but operationally, we create opportunities in so many layers that are not visible," Irani said in response to a question during her appearance at the Observer Research Foundation America. Irani, who is currently on an unofficial trip to the US, said there is a lack of information about how much India has progressed. "There isn't much information about the climate action that has been undertaken by India. Similarly, let's say in precision manufacturing, in agro-based industry, the misconception is that our economy is open only for bi
BJP conducted a membership drive in 252 slum clusters as part of its weekly outreach in jhuggis of the national capital as senior party leader Smriti Irani began her three-day organisational visit in the city. Irani addressed BJP workers in Shahdara, Karol Bagh and New Delhi areas as part of the BJP's membership drive. The party's membership drive in the JJ clusters were held under the leadership of Union minister Harsh Malhotra and Alka Gurjar, co-in-charge of BJP's Delhi unit. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed that people living in slum clusters are enthusiastically becoming the party's members because they are disappointed with the Arvind Kejriwal government. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), however, said the people of Delhi were firmly in support of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and called the BJP's membership drive in the city as a "grand nautanki". Union minister Malhotra conducted the membership drive at the Indira Camp, Patparganj, along with party workers, an
Congress' Amethi Lok Sabha candidate Kishori Lal Sharma has emerged as a giant slayer by defeating sitting BJP MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani by a margin of over 1.5 lakh votes. Interestingly, Irani was dubbed a giant slayer in 2019 after she defeated Rahul Gandhi from the seat in the last general elections. According to Election Commission data, while Sharma got 5,39,228 votes, Irani managed to get 3,72,032 votes. In West Bengal's Baharampur seat, first-time contender Yusuf Pathan of the Trinammol Congress secured a comfortable victory over Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in the Congress veteran's Baharampur bastion. The former India cricketer beat the Congress' Leader in the 17th Lok Sabha and six-time MP by 85,022 votes. In Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister and two-time MP from Kheri, Ajay Kumar Teni, lost to Samajwadi Party's (SP) Utkarsh Verma Madhur by 34,329 votes. Another big upset in the state was the defeat of senior BJP leader and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi in the Sult