KOLKATA — To celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing 25 years of continuous leadership in public office, the Bharatiya Janata Party will carry out a month-long nationwide ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’ from September 17 to October 17.
Unveiling the schedule at the state headquarters in Salt Lake, West Bengal BJP Chief and Rajya Sabha MP Shamik Bhattacharya highlighted that the initiative will span every level of the organisation, reaching from regional districts down to grassroots voting booths.
The campaign timeframe aligns with two significant events: Prime Minister Modi’s birthday on September 17 and October 7, the date marking 25 years since he first took oath as chief minister of Gujarat. Bhattacharya emphasised that serving a quarter-century in top-level governance through democratic elections represents a rare benchmark in Indian politics. To outline localised execution strategies, district units across West Bengal will conduct individual media briefings on September 9 and 10.
Grassroots outreach and community initiatives
Party cadre across the state will launch the drive on September 17 by lighting 25 traditional lamps at each booth to offer prayers for the prime minister’s health and longevity. The public awareness strategy features the release of a documentary and a theme song titled ‘Namo Seva Gatha’, alongside decentralised ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ processions traveling through districts and mandals.
Under the ‘My Contribution to Seva’ banner, the campaign encourages direct civic involvement in neighbourhood cleanliness, assistance for vulnerable communities, waste segregation, water conservation, and the restoration of local water bodies.
Welfare enrolment, cultural programmes, and policy stances
A core pillar of the effort is the ‘Seva Setu Abhiyan’, which consists of three-day localised assistance camps operating at block and booth levels. Party workers will help citizens navigate digital forms and paperwork to secure benefits under central and state social security programmes, including old-age pensions, Ayushman Bharat, and Annapurna Yojana.
Additionally, the campaign includes youth-centric events such as Science Congresses in five major cities —including Kolkata — along with creative contests for children, art collaborations with fine arts colleges, and a digital campaign featuring narrative testimonials from 25 lakh welfare beneficiaries.
Addressing media inquiries, Bhattacharya criticized the State Government for failing to fully implement central welfare programs like PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, PM Vishwakarma Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, and Kisan Samman Nidhi due to political friction.
He also clarified the party’s stance on several contemporary issues, stating that the BJP views saffron as an emblem of cultural continuity and sacrifice rather than a political slogan, dismissing terms like “Gerua Bangla.” He added that youth hold every democratic right to question, while personal dietary choices —whether fish, meat, or vegetarian — remain an individual matter dictated by local cultural habits rather than party policy.
(This report was drafted with the assistance of AI and verified by a human editor.)