Nagpur, Apr 6 (UNI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari attended 46th foundation day celebration of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here on Sunday.

Fadnavis and Gadkari also performed 'bhoomi pujan' at the BJP office located at Gandhisagar in Mahal area.

BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, MLA Pravin Datke and BJP officials and workers were present on the occasion.

On his social media handle X, Fadnavis wrote that "'Nation First' is our principle and that is our ideology."

Gadkari congratulated all the party workers and office-bearers on the occasion.

Gadkari also wrote on Twitter, "On the foundation day of BJP, hearty congratulations and best wishes to all the workers dedicated to the resolution of serving the nation. Salute to all those great people who have strengthened the party and the organisation with hard work and dedication and made it a huge banyan tree."

"Today, BJP has been recognised as the world's most omnipresent, powerful and largest political party. BJP is not the party of any person or family; rather, BJP is the party of all the workers. This BJP office being built at Gandhisagar, Mahal will become a source of energy for all the party workers."

"Following the path of nationalist ideology under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP is constantly striving to make the country progressive and self-reliant," he stated.

The origin of the party is linked to formation of the Jan Sangh in 1950. The Jan Sangh was started by former Union Minister Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. After the end of the Emergency in 1977, the Jana Sangh merged with the Janata Party with the aim of defeating the Congress.

Then, the Jana Sangh members left the Janata Party and officially founded the BJP on April six, 1980.

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