Dinesh Agarwal
Chamba: BJP former state president and MP Suresh Kashyap began his tour of the parliamentary constituency from the Rohru Assembly segment as part of a nationwide padyatra marking the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Addressing the gathering, Kashyap said the BJP has emerged as the most powerful political organisation in India and across the world under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that in 2014 the party had 1,035 MLAs across the country, which increased to 1,207 in 2020 and has now reached 1,654 in 2025. According to him, these numbers reflect the party’s continuous rise under the leadership of PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda.
He said the Congress, on the other hand, has witnessed a sharp decline. In the recent Bihar Assembly election, the party was reduced to just six seats. He added that the Congress secured only 21 per cent vote share in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, compared to the BJP’s 37 per cent. Kashyap further said that in the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls, the Congress managed to secure only an estimated 8.7 per cent vote share.
Kashyap said that real development in the Rohru constituency took place during the government led by former chief minister Jairam Thakur. He said that CT scan facilities were introduced at Rohru Civil Hospital, the community health centre at Sandasu was upgraded from 20 to 50 beds, a helipad was constructed at Kulgaon, and an additional floor was added to the Chief Minister Lok Bhawan in Samoli. He added that sub-tehsils were announced for Samarkot and Dhamwari, and new trades were introduced at ITI Chirgaon and ITI Dodra Kwar.
Speaking on the legacy of Sardar Patel, he said that Patel believed in creating history rather than spending time writing it. He recalled Patel’s extraordinary achievement of integrating more than 550 princely states after Independence—a task once considered nearly impossible. He said the idea of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ was central to Patel’s vision, which is why Patel’s birth anniversary has naturally evolved into a major celebration of national unity. He added that just as 140 crore Indians celebrate Independence Day on 15 August and Republic Day on 26 January, National Unity Day has now attained similar significance.