He may be PM, but Modi remains an organisation-soldier of BJP

When PM Modi asked Mr Nadda to be garlanded first, it was a message for party lawmakers that the organisational leadership and works matter in a disciplined political party like the BJP.

New Delhi: He may be one of the most talked-about and hailed Prime Ministers of India, but Narendra Damodardas Modi essentially remains an organisation 'foot soldier' to the core. 

At the BJP parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday, March 15, PM Modi ensured that the party's national president J P Nadda is garlanded first.

This was certainly a gesture meant to acknowledge the organisation's role in the just-concluded assembly elections, where the saffron outfit recorded an unprecedented victory returning to power in four states.

Of course, Mr Modi was given a rousing welcome at the Ambedkar Bhavan here in recognition of his stewardship at the fiercely contested polls, especially in Uttar Pradesh.

As Modi asked Mr Nadda to be garlanded first, it was a message for party lawmakers that the organisational leadership and works matter in a disciplined political party like the BJP.

Top party leaders Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh – three former presidents of the party and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi were present at the meeting.

The BJP has returned to power, winning 41.29 per cent of votes and as many as 255 seats in the 403-member assembly. It also came to power on its own in Manipur, winning 32 seats in the 60-member assembly, and emerged as the single largest party picking up 20 seats in the 40-member Goa assembly. 

BJP also returned to power in Uttarakhand for the second consecutive term with a two-third majority. This is the first time that a ruling party came back to power in Uttarakhand that was carved out of Uttar Pradesh by the Vajpayee government in 2000.

Modi's importance to organisational leadership vis-à-vis the party's national president's office had come to light in 2019. When addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, the Prime Minister requested the then party chief Amit Shah to field most questions from the journalists.

In fact, the Prime Minister was asked a question on Sadhvi Pragya, to which Shah had said the Prime Minister need not answer that question. Modi immediately said he follows discipline, and for him, the party president is the real boss. The question was then answered by Shah.