New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written an open letter to the people of Madhya Pradesh, asking them to extend “seedha samarthan” or “direct support” to him in the upcoming assembly election — as they did “in 2014 and 2019” — and ensuring the BJP’s win.
Although he has mentioned Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouan’s and the BJP government’s “untiring hard work”, his appeal for direct support to him has confirmed that the party will contest the election with PM Modi as the face.
BJP leaders have repeatedly skirted queries on whether Chouhan, who has led the state for 18 years, will be the CM if the party retains power, saying that elections will be contested under collective leadership.
The PM’s letter seeks to reiterate this message as it carries Modi’s picture on the top and at the bottom, the latter alongside BJP national president J.P. Nadda and Chouhan, and nine other senior leaders from the state — including Narendra Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narottam Mishra, Prahlad Patel, Kailash Vijayvargiya, and V.D. Sharma.
प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi का मध्य प्रदेश की जनता के नाम पत्र। pic.twitter.com/gaI09yOAVW
— BJP (@BJP4India) October 19, 2023
Underneath is a slogan: “Modiji ko seedha samarthan pahunchayen, BJP ko vote dekar MP mein jitaayen (extend direct support to Modi, vote for BJP to make it win in MP).”
The PM’s picture on the top of the letter is captioned: “MP ke mann mein Modi (Modi in MP’s heart)”.
“I have always had a special connection with Madhya Pradesh, due to which you gave me immense affection in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections and gave an unprecedented victory to the BJP,” Modi wrote. “I have full confidence that you will do the same in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections by giving your direct support to me, and due to your unwavering faith in BJP, we will again form a double-engine government this time,” the PM said.
He added that as “a result of the tireless hard work of Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the BJP government in these 20 years, today more than 5 lakh km of roads have been constructed in Madhya Pradesh, economic growth rate is more than 16 percent, tap water is available in more than 65 lakh houses, power production stands at 28,000 megawatt”.
“I feel proud after seeing all this,” the PM said.
“Your trust in the BJP for the last 20 years has ensured that the state has entered the list of top 10 economies,” he added. “And, today, Madhya Pradesh is all set to enter the group of top three state economies.”
Elections will be held in Madhya Pradesh on 17 November.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)