Senior BJP leader and MP Hoshiarpur, Vijay Sampla took over as president of the Punjab Unit of BJP in an impressive ceremony held at BJP Bhavan located in Sector 37, Chandigarh, on Tuesday.Scores of BJP leaders including former and sitting ministers in the SAD-BJP coalition Punjab government, MLAs, office bearers of the party and workers from across the state joined the ceremony and congratulated Sampla for heading Punjab unit of the party.Prominent among those who marked their presence include former Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma, Prabhat Jha, incharge of party affairs in Punjab, Avinash Rai Khanna, national vice president of BJP, Tarun Chug, Dinesh Kumar, Madan Mohan Mittal, Surjit Jiyani, Anil Joshi, Bhgat Chuni Lal, Manoranjan Kalia, Ashwani Sharma, Brij Lal Rinva, Rajinder Bhandri, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, Vineet Joshi, Tiksan Sud, Master Mohan Lal, Arunesh Shaker, Dinesh Kumar Babbu and some others.Amid beating of drums and busting crackers, scores of BJP workers and supporters from far flung areas reached city to greet their leader.
While addressing a massive gathering in a jam packed hall, Sampla thanked Amit Shah, BJP president, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for trusting on him and assigning him duty to serve people of Punjab.
He, however, claimed that he would try his best to come to their expectations and added that this would be possible only with the support and cooperation from party leader sand supporters.Sampla also launched a mobile App “BJPPunjab” to seek complaints and suggestions from general public for strengthening the party at grass-root levels in Punjab. He said that the party will prepare volunteers in Punjab who will be part of the Disaster Management team.Sample claimed that he accepted the challenge and will produce the results in the Punjab Assembly Elections 2016 by winning all 23 seats (BJP share) and making SAD-BJP lead government for the third time.He also assured to work to strengthen the party with the cooperation from his predecessors and veteran BJP leaders.Sampla also targeted the Congress for following Modi’s ‘Chai pe charcha’ program by ‘Coffee with Capt.’ in Punjab. Taking a dig on the AAP, newly appointed BJP president said that the party as disrespecting the martyrs by mixing “pug (turban) with peg (alcohol) while wearing ‘mustered turban’.He also shared his experiences of life and the journey from a plumber to a Union Minister in the Indian government.
Earlier, a video footage in which Union Finance Arun Jaitely congratulated Sampla for being the new BJP president was also shown. Jaitely also appreciated Sampla for being a dedicated works, leader and then a Minister of the party. “Sampla will continue to be a minister apart from the president of Punjab BJP, “ said Jaitely adding that he and his team will take the BJP to new heights in Punjab.The outgoing president, Kamal Sharma, said that he tried to serve the party to the best of his ability and congratulated his successor Sampla for being new face of the BJP in Punjab. He also assured full support and cooperation to Sampla.Prabhat Jha, inchrge of the Punjab BJP affairs, termed Sampla a strong personality from the weaker section. He said that the Punjab politics was taking turns and BJP is increa .Jha also claimed that the party was united in Punjab and by winning 23 seats will help the SAD-BJP form the next government.Avinash Rai Khanna, said that Sampla was always a silent and committed worker of the party who worked tirelessly without any interest. His performance in the Parliament was also excellent.