BJP Gets A New Address; Soul Of New Office Is The Party Worker, Says PM Modi

New Delhi:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the new office of the Bharatiya Janata Party which has moved base from 11, Ashoka Road in the heart of Delhi - the BJP's headquarters for decades, often serving as a synonym for the party. The new address - 6, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg - is five kilometres away from the present office, on a street named after a prominent leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, the BJP's ideological mentor.

"Is this the BJP office or my office? Every party worker should think this is my office... This office isn't for the party's roadmap, it is for realising the hopes and dreams of the party workers... the soul of this office is the party worker," PM Modi said to an audience which had party veteran LK Advani, ministers and top leaders in attendance. The Prime Minister also thanked BJP President Amit Shah for "completing the office in a timely manner, and an office like the one we dreamed of".
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The 70-room new office space, the foundation for which was laid by PM Modi and Mr Shah in August 2016, is a modern, multi-storeyed building with three blocks, spread over a sprawling two acres. The main building is seven-storey high, and the other two on the side have three storeys each, housing the offices of the party president and other senior leaders.

Giant cut-outs of the Prime Minister and the BJP chief along with photos of party patriarch and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, veteran LK Advani and several top leaders adorn the entrance.
 
As the party prepares for the general elections next year, the shift is driven by functionality. The BJP led by Amit Shah, who prefers to hold all his meetings at the party office, reportedly believed that the current office was too small and had too few features of a modern office. So, the new headquarters - designed by a Mumbai-based architecture company - is equipped with the latest technological and communication facilities, linking it to its units in states and districts. The BJP chief reportedly visited the site 18 times. closely supervising its construction.

The WiFi office complex includes two large conference halls and a digital library connected to each party office in state capitals and district headquarters. There will be several eateries for party functionaries and visitors.

Underground parking for 200 cars is planned; visitors park on the road outside the current office, leading to jams.

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The shift will make the BJP the first major national party to move its office outside Lutyens' Bungalow Zone, following a Supreme Court directive that party offices should be relocated from the area. Most political parties are headquartered out of bungalows in the VIP zone.

(With inputs from Agencies)