‘BJP’s new entrants doing fine job’

Margao: National general secretary of BJP in-charge of Goa C T Ravi on Saturday dismissed the probability of the party suffering reverses in the 2022 assembly polls on account of resentment among voters over the party’s move of inducting 10 Congress MLAs into its fold.
“All the new entrants into our party are doing a fine job. For the first time, BJP has won all the local elections – zilla panchayats, municipal councils, panchayats – by winning most number of seats,” Ravi said exuding confidence that the issue of defection will not have any adverse impact on the party.
Ravi made these statements while speaking at a press conference held at the party’s South Goa district office, Margao, before the commencement of the party’s district executive committee. State party president Sadanand Tanavade, general secretary Narendra Sawaikar, deputy chief minister Chandrakant Kavlekar and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar,were among those present on the occasion.
To another query over whether the defectors would be awarded tickets by the party to contest the 2022 polls, Ravi said that it would be decided by the parliamentary board based on the party’s internal system to assess the strength and popularity of the prospective candidates.
“Once a person joins our party, he belongs to our party; there’s no question of any other party,” he said in a bid to suggest that the Congress turncoats have been thoroughly assimilated into the saffron party.
To a query over the party’s poll preparedness, Ravi said that winning elections wasn’t the party’s be-all and end-all. “Making the country strong is our ultimate goal, power is only a means towards that end,” he said.
Answering a question over rising fuel prices, Ravi said that the Modi government was exploring various options to make India “atmanirbhar” in petroleum products too.