Prime Minister Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda at the poll victory celebrations in New Delhi Sunday. Tashi Tobgyal
TAKING ON the Opposition’s efforts to build its 2024 Lok Sabha election strategy around the caste census demand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reiterated that he believed in only four castes — women, youth, farmers and the poor – and said that the BJP’s victory in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan was their victory.
“Today, the people of MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have showered their love on us… These elections saw many attempts to divide the people of the country into different castes… But I kept saying that I believe in only four of them — nari shakti, yuva shakti, our kisans and the poor… It is only by empowering these four that the country can develop,” Modi said in his address to party workers at the BJP national headquarters in New Delhi.
You have exhausted your monthly limit of free stories.
Read more stories for free with an Express account.
“Today, every poor citizen is saying that they have won, every marginalised child is feeling the hope of victory, every farmer is thinking that he has won, each tribal brother and sister is happy with the thought of this being their victory,” the Prime Minister said.
“Today, every first-time voter is saying with pride that they have won, every woman is seeing her victory in this win, every youth looking forward to a bright future is seeing in this victory their victory, every citizen who wants to see India as a developed nation in 2047 is considering this their success,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that the election results across the three states prove that ‘Nari Shakti’ had not only emerged as a pillar of strength for the BJP but had gone a step beyond by taking upon itself to “bless” the party.
“Augmenting the power of women is the foundation of the BJP’s model of development, which is why the women, the sisters and daughters (of the three states) have given all their blessings to the BJP… I want to tell all of them, in all humility, that all the promises that the BJP has made to you will be fulfilled 100 per cent – this is Modi’s guarantee,” the Prime Minister said.
BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were on the dais. Hundreds of supporters, including a large number of women, were part of the gathering.
Story continues below this ad
The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the tribal community and the youth, even as he took on the Opposition’s INDIA bloc – especially the Congress – cautioning the parties against practicing “politics of appeasement” and dynasty. He also issued a warning to state governments to refrain from stalling implementation of Central welfare schemes.
“Whether it is Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh or Telangana — all those who were in power are now out… this is because the youth of the country knows that the BJP has their interests at heart. In each state, seats dominated by the tribal community have seen the Congress being routed. These election results are a big lesson for Congress and its alliance of the arrogant…” he said.
“They prove that the trust of the nation cannot be secured by just a few family members coming together on the stage but by the spirit of national service which they do not have. Parties should not come between the poor and the funds meant for welfare schemes from the Central government for them, or the people will remove you,” he said.
Modi said that it was not just the BJP which emerged victorious in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh but also the the ideology of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, the politics of honesty and transparency and the vision of Viksit Bharat and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Story continues below this ad
“I want to especially thank the people and BJP workers of Telangana where the party’s graph has been on the upswing… I want to assure the citizens (of Telangana) that the BJP will not leave anything wanting in your service,” he said.
The reverberations of the BJP’s victory in the three states, the Prime Minister said, had not only instilled confidence in the people who believed in the vision of a developed India but also in investors from across the world. “These Assembly election results have ushered in an atmosphere of positivity. We have to keep this energy, this momentum up. Where all hopes end, that is where Modi’s guarantee begins… today’s hat-trick is the guarantee of a hat-trick in 2024,” he said.
Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. Over the last 16 years, he has covered governance, politics, bureaucracy, crime, traffic, intelligence, the Election Commission of India and Urban Development among other beats. He is an English (Literature) graduate from Zakir Husain Delhi College, DU & specialised in Print at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. He tweets @jatinpaul ... Read More