Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today addressed his party workers on the occasion of the founding day.  The BJP became a party on April 6 1980. So today is the 40th anniversary. 

In his address, the Prime Minister outlined the importance of bringing a positive change in the lives of people. 

He said, "In line with the party's ethos, our karyakartas (workers) have worked hard to bring a positive difference in the lives of many and done great social service.”

The PM also paid tributes to those who worked hard for the cause of building the party. 

He said, "Tributes to all those who have toiled hard to build the party for decades, due to which BJP has got the opportunity to serve crores of Indians across our nation's length and breadth.” 

However, the PM did not miss out on an opportunity to ask his workers to follow the guidelines of the party president and work towards containing the spread of the coronavirus. 

He said, "I appeal to BJP karyakartas to follow the set of guidelines from our party president @JPNadda Ji, help those in need and reaffirm the importance of social distancing. Let's make India COVID-19 free.” 

 

A note on BJP’s origins: 

The BJP was a part of Bharatiya Jana Sangh which was founded by Syama Prasad Mukherjee. It was the year 1951 when Mukherjee founded the Jan Sangh as an answer to the Congress party’s appeasement politics towards the Muslims. The RSS has also played a key role in the formation of the party. In fact, it was even considered a political wing of the RSS. 

During its initial days, the BJP borrowed a lot of pracharaks from the RSS to establish itself. 

(Vajpayee with Narendra Modi) 

The party has had several stalwarts to its credit, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee, LD Advani among others.