Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], April 6 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari attended Bharatiya Janata Party's Foundation Day celebrations in Nagpur.
The party is celebratin its 46th foundation day.
Fadnavis and Gadkari also performed 'Bhoomi Pujan' at the BJP's office in Nagpur. BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, MLA Pravin Datke, and BJP office-bearers and workers were present on the occasion.
CM Fadnavis said that 'Nation First' is our principle and this is our ideology! "BJP Foundation Day! 'Nation First' is our principle and this is our ideology!" Fadnavis wrote on X.
Nitin Gadkari congratulated all the BJP's workers on the occasion.
"Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all the workers dedicated to the resolve of national service on the foundation day of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Salutations to all the great individuals who, with hard work and dedication, have strengthened the party and organization, making it a vast banyan tree. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji while walking on the path of nationalist ideology, BJP is continuously striving to make the country progressive and self-reliant," Gadkari wrote on X.
Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh CM greeted party workers for their unwavering dedication to service, good governance, and the upliftment of the poor, rooted in the spirit of "Nation above all."
Taking to social media platform X, the Chief Minister said, "The flag of the Bharatiya Janata Party, dedicated to service, good governance, and public welfare in the spirit of 'Nation First', is my pride and my inspiration."
The BJP was officially formed on April 6, 1980, on the basis of panch nishthas (five commitments). However, the party's origin lies with the formation of the Jana Sangh in 1950.
The Jana Sangh was started by former union minister Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
The Jana Sangh merged with the Janata Party after the end of the Emergency in 1977, with the aim to defeat Congress. Later on, the question of 'dual membership' was raised between the RSS members and the Jana Sangh, with the ask that either the Jana Sangh members should leave the Janata Party or their membership of RSS. Regarding the issue, the Jana Sangh members left the Janata Party and officially founded the BJP on April 6, 1980.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has had two Prime Ministers since its formation: Narendra Modi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In the 1996, 1998, and 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the party emerged as the single largest party. In the 2019 Lok Sabha, the party won 303 seats, the most in the party's history.