A large BJP delegation left for New Delhi on Wednesday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party’s national leaders.
The 13-member delegation includes Speaker Embalam R. Selvam, the two newly-inducted Ministers A. Namassivayam and Sai Saravanan Kumar, four elected MLAs and three nominated MLAs.
BJP State president A. Saminathan, who is also part of the team, said the Prime Minister had given them an appointment for a meeting on Thursday.
Thanksgiving visit
“This is a courtesy visit to express our gratitude to the leadership for its support to the Puducherry unit that helped make history by forming the first NDA government in the Union Territory,” Mr. Saminathan said.
The delegation will also meet other leaders, such as Home Minister Amit Shah and party national president J.P. Nadda.
“We will seek guidance and continuation of support to implement the Prime Minister’s vision for the Union Territory,” Mr. Saminathan said.
During the election campaign, Mr. Modi twice visited Puducherry to spell out the NDA’s plans for BEST Puducherry, an acronym for making the Union Territory a hub of business, education, spirituality and tourism.
Several top BJP leaders, including Mr. Shah, Mr. Nadda and Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Nitin Gadkari and Kishan Reddy addressed political rallies during the campaigning for the April 6 Assembly election.
The BJP finished with six MLAs, besides having nominated MLAs and the support of a couple of Independent MLAs.
All members of the delegation took the test for COVID-19 ahead of their departure.