Indore, Feb 18 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari Thursday urged party workers to make a collective resolve to increase the party’s vote share by at least 10 percent by breaking new grounds.
In his first presidential speech at the BJP national council meet here, Gadkari said: “I appeal to all of you to leave no stone unturned to reach out to the underprivileged sections such as Scheduled Caste, Scheduled tribe and minorities in a big, big way.

“People are waiting for political workers who would respond to their agonies and aspirations. They are keen to join us provided we connect with them. We just can’t afford to fail. Let us make a collective resolve to increase the party’s vote share at least by 10 percent by breaking new grounds and taking new initiatives.”

He said the party could not come to power in the last Lok Sabha election but it would in 2014.

In an obvious attack on Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Gadkari said that his party did not believe in dynastic politics, underlining that neither his father nor grandparents were prime ministers.

“I was a simple worker of a party and today I am its president. This can happen only in the BJP. The BJP is not like other political parties where dynasty rules,” Gadkari said.

“My father was not the prime minister of the country, neither were my maternal great grandfather nor grandmother. We are a party with a difference.”

Gadkari’s remarks were clearly aimed at Rahul Gandhi, whose father Rajiv Gandhi, grandmother Indira Gandhi and great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru were all prime ministers.

Before his speech, the national council ratified the presidentship of Gadkari. Senior leaders hailed his ascendance and garlanded him. Gadkari was named the BJP president in December. He took charge this month.