Don't lose morale due to results in 3 states: Shah to BJP workers

New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah on Saturday told the party workers not to lose morale because of the adverse results in the recent Assembly elections, saying the opponent had won but the saffron party had not lost its ground.

Mounting an attack on the Congress, Shah held the opposition party responsible for "three ulcers -- casteism, nepotism and appeasement -- afflicting the politics in the country" that "weakened" democracy and halted development.

"In the elections in the three states (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh), our opponents won but we were not defeated. The results were not good, but we have not lost our ground. The party workers need not lose their morale," he said in his address at the BJP's national convention at the Ramlila Ground here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost power to the Congress in the three Hindi heartland states in the recently-held Assembly polls.

"There is an opportunity in 2019 and the workers should move forward with an aim to lay the foundation of a strong government through these states," Shah said.

The meaning of "defeat" was reflected by the Congress, which had vanished from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, he added.

"The Lok Sabha polls are very important for us. If we get a massive victory, the BJP will rule the country from panchayats to Parliament for a long time," Shah said.

He asked the party workers to focus on the BJP's 13 programmes, to be taken up by them in the run-up to the high-stakes general election, including establishing contacts with the 22 crore beneficiaries of the Narendra Modi government's schemes.

The BJP chief also asked the party workers to ensure that the votes of their family members and friends were cast by 10.30 am on the polling day.

"No alliance will defeat us as we go to the election with the blessings of these 22 crore beneficiaries," he asserted.

Shah asked the party workers to ensure that every voter in the country was contacted in an intensive campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.

He asked them to go back to their respective states with a pledge to ensure the BJP's victory in the parliamentary election and make Modi the prime minister for the second term.