After a wait of 45 years, the Delhi BJP got its permanent address on DDU Marg on Monday with the unveiling of a five-storeyed, state-of-the-art building with a touch of south Indian architecture.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the building at a function attended by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, several Union ministers, the party's Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva, senior functionaries and leaders.
Leaders of the party said the Delhi BJP office will start shifting from its current location at Pandit Pant Marg to the new building around Diwali.
The Delhi BJP currently operates from its headquarters at a bungalow near Gurudwara Rakabganj on Pandit Pant Marg in Lutyens' Delhi.
"I thank the central leadership for this permanent office of the Delhi BJP that functioned from Ajmeri Gate Chowk, Pant Marg for many years. This soothes the pain felt by the party workers in the absence of a permanent office building," Sachdeva said.
The new party office building incorporates elements of south Indian architecture, featuring high pillars at the entrance and at its facade, BJP leaders said.
Located on an 825-square metre plot, the five-storeyed building comprises 30,000 square feet of built-up area, including the facade, entrance and pillars. It is designed to be environment-friendly and equipped with modern amenities, the party leaders said.
The structure includes two basements for parking vehicles. The first floor of the building will house an auditorium with a capacity of 200 people, while the second floor will have offices of the party morchas and cells, said a senior Delhi BJP leader.
The offices of the Delhi BJP vice presidents, general secretaries and other office-bearers, along with a conference room with seating arrangements for 50 people and a library, will be on the third floor. The Delhi BJP president, general secretary (organisation) and in-charges will have offices on the fourth floor.
The fourth floor will also have a meeting room to accommodate 15-20 people. A press conference hall is located on the ground floor.
BJP's precursor Jan Sangh operated from the crowded Naya Bajar area in old Delhi before 1975. It shifted to the second floor of a rented building at Ajmeri Gate Chowk in 1975, said Delhi BJP's media department head Praveen Shankar Kapoor.
After the formation of the BJP on April 6, 1980, the Delhi office continued to function from Ajmeri Gate Chowk till 1989, he added.
The Delhi BJP office briefly shifted to 20, Rakabganj Road, before the 1989 Lok Sabha polls. It then shifted to its current location at 14, Pandit Pant Marg -- a bungalow that was allocated to party leader Madan Lal Khurana, who was elected as the MP from the Sadar Bazar seat.
The party has been making efforts for a permanent office for long but something or the other cropped up and the construction was delayed. Finally, the land for the new party office was obtained in 2022-23, Kapoor said.
The construction work began after a Bhumi Poojan ceremony presided by party president JP Nadda in 2023. After a long wait of 45 years, the Delhi BJP now has its permanent office building, Kapoor said.
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