Amit Shah Arrives in Bhubaneswar
BJP President Amit Shah arrived a day earlier, on Friday, for the BJP National Executive meet. He paid tributes to Dalit icon Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on his birth anniversary – and later joined his state party colleagues in celebrating the Odia new year.
The BJP organised a motorcycle rally to welcome him. He was also presented with a garland of 74 "victory flowers", a reference to the majority mark in the 147-seat Odisha assembly.
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan called Odisha a "laboratory" of the pro-poor policies of the Modi government, as he hit out at the state government a day before the executive is set to begin.
(With ANI, PTI and IANS inputs)
BJP Can Beat Regional Parties: Amit Shah
Talking at the national executive meet, BJP president Amit Shah asserted that the party has changed the meaning of victory after winning “Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand with a three-fourths majority.”
He also attacked political parties for questioning the reliability of EVMs and asked them to accept defeat gracefully. He further said that the BJP can beat regional parties.
“The BJP should have a chief minister in every state,” he further added.
'Let us Resolve to Make BJP a Pan India Party': Ravi Shankar Prasad
Addressing the media on Saturday, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the BJP will now aim to unite against local parties and make the BJP a pan-India party.
“We will win Odisha, like we won Assam and Manipur,” Prasad further added.
Modi Pays Floral Tributes to Odisha's Personalities
After arriving at the airport, Modi paid floral tributes to Odisha's legendary personalities to strike an emotional chord with the Odias.
"Landed in Odisha to a memorable welcome. Gratitude to the people for the warmth and enthusiasm," tweeted Modi.
National Executive Meet Begins
Prime Minister Modi, Amit Shah, Arun Jaitley and LK Advani have taken their place on stage and the party meet has begun.