New Delhi: Sunday’s hat-trick for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, is a guarantee to the party’s “hat-trick in 2024”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday evening, hours after the BJP scored a thumping majority in assembly elections in all three states.
The party has retained power in MP with a wide majority and has snatched the other two states from the Congress.
Addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters in Delhi Sunday evening, the PM cautioned the Opposition against indulging in politics “that is divisive, weakens, and breaks the nation”.
“Today’s victory is also a lesson for parties who try to come in the way of the central government’s schemes meant for the poor people. Otherwise, people will wipe them out,” he told supporters.
Terming Sunday’s victory as “historic and unprecedented”, the PM also said the BJP “doesn’t just make empty promises, rather it ensures delivery and performance”.
“Voters of India know what’s a selfish pursuit, and what works for the betterment of the nation,” he said. “ Today’s hat-trick has given the guarantee of a hat-trick in 2024.”
In his speech, Modi said that these election results are also a big lesson for the Congress and its “ghamandiya gathbandhan” (arrogant alliance) — a reference to the Opposition’s INDIA bloc.
The only state that Congress emerged victorious on Sunday is Telangana, where it dislodged the K. Chandrashekar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.
Results for elections in Mizoram, also held last month, will be announced Monday.
“The coming together of various parties who indulge in dynasty politics under the ghamandiya gathbandhan can help them paint a good picture (by being on the stage together) but it will never get them the trust of the people,” the Prime Minister said.
With these results, except for Himachal Pradesh, the Congress will find itself nearly wiped out from the political map of north India — which accounts for the largest number of parliamentary seats — ahead of the 2024 General Election.
The BJP, meanwhile, further consolidates its base in the region where it has established a near-hegemonic presence.
Also Read: Modi’s popularity stronger now than any point in 1st term. 10 takeaways from election results
‘Call of a definite India has won’
While the people of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan have expressed their affection for BJP, “affection for the party is also increasing in Telangana”, the prime minister said in his speech.
He accused the Congress of trying to “divide the country along caste lines”.
“I’ve always been saying that for me, there are only four biggest castes — our women power, youth power, farmers, and our poor families,” he said.
The OBCs and tribals also come under this category, he said. All four of these “castes” have shown confidence in the policies of the BJP this election, he said.
“Every poor (person), farmer, and deprived person is saying that today’s victory belongs to him/her,” he said. “Today, every first-time voter is proudly saying that he has won. Every woman sees it as her victory, the youth who dream of their future are considering it their win. Every citizen who wants to see India become a developed nation in 2047 is considering it as their success.”
He said that through the victory, the spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ has won. “Today, the call of a definite India has won,” he said, adding that where hope from others ends, “Modi’s guarantee begins”.
‘BJP is a guarantor of women’s dignity’
He also hailed women voters for their support. “Today, I will especially congratulate nari shakti (woman power),” he told the crowd. “I used to say in my rallies that if woman power becomes someone’s shield, no harm can ever come to that person.”
The BJP, he said, is the “biggest guarantor” of women’s dignity and respect for women. “Today, every woman has the confidence that her active participation is going to reach new heights,” he said.
Women, he said, have seen how honestly the BJP worked in the last 10 years to provide them with basic facilities like toilets, electricity, gas, tap water, and bank accounts.
“Today, BJP is continuously working to provide them employment. Today, I say with all humility that the promises made by the BJP to you will be fulfilled 100 percent. This is Modi’s guarantee. Modi’s guarantee means a guarantee that the guarantee will be fulfilled,” he said.
‘Congress wiped out from tribal seats’
The prime minister said that tribals across the country, whether in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, or Rajasthan, have voted against the Congress for its “wrongdoings”.
“The tribal community is speaking openly now. This community has been lagging for 60 years due to the wrongdoings of the Congress, and, today, they have ensured that the party has been wiped out,” he told the cheering crowds.
He further said: “Today, we have seen the same feeling in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The Congress has been wiped out from the tribal seats of these states. The tribal society today aspires for development and they know that only the BJP can achieve it.”
Results of the assembly elections have started a “flow of positive energy, which the entire country is feeling today, he said. “This power has further strengthened the foundation prepared for developed India,” he told BJP supporters.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)