BY Vijayendra officially takes charge as state BJP president

BENGALURU: B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday officially took charge as the 11th president of the Karnataka unit of the BJP. Speaking on the occasion, he said, “Don’t think of me as belonging to the Lingayat or Vokkaliga community. I am a worker of the BJP,  treat me as one among you and we will all work for the party unitedly”.

Former state party chief Nalin Kumar Kateel handed over the party flag to Vijayendra symbolically at the Karnataka BJP headquarters, Jagannath Bhavan, in the City.

Vijayendra said “On the auspicious occasion of Deepavali, I have taken over the post of president with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our national president J P Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh”. He added that he would make sincere efforts to keep the trust of lakhs of workers of the state.

“I did not expect to get the state party chief post. From the moment JP Nadda announced my name, all the leaders personally wished me well. I will take the advice of all the elders and Sangh Parivar leaders and organise the party”, he added.

He said that he would work day and night, raise his voice, and fight against the corrupt Congress government.

“Our goal now is to win 28 out of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies. There is no personal motive in this. We should strengthen Prime Minister Modi’s hands to fulfill the dream of making India the world’s top country and work without taking a single day off. Earlier, Yediyurappa was made fun of when he said that BJP would win more than 20 Lok Sabha seats. But the BJP won 25 seats during his term. Now we have to work to win 28 constituencies”, he added.

“During the election, Congress leaders accused our government as a 40 per cent government. People believed those lies told by the Congress. Now, the Congress is slowly implementing the allegations that I have made. The MLAs of the ruling party are walking with their heads hanging in shame. They are not getting any grants”, Vijayendra charged.

He called upon all party workers and leaders to work again with determination to make the BJP come back to power again in Karnataka. “For the first time, I have been elected as a people’s representative and got this post with the blessings of the people of Shikaripura taluk”, Vijayendra added.

On the occasion, he thanked the voters of Shikaripura and the elders who built the party in the state for getting this important position.

Speaking on the occasion, former CM Yediyurappa said that with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Nadda, Vijayendra took charge as the state president. “We will call Amit Shah to Bengaluru and invite lakhs of people, and we will have a big event to mark the celebration. The enthusiasm has increased after the announcement of Vijayendra’s name”, he said.

Nalin Kumar Kateel said, “Vijayendra should also be given the same cooperation and strength as you have given me. All elders will cooperate. The party should be organised through collective leadership”. Kateel said that he will accompany Vijayendra as an guiding force.