Development agenda won: PM Modi and Amit Shah on BJP victories

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated his party on their victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh on Monday, and said that the victories indicated “strong support” for “politics of good governance”.

“I bow to the people of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for their affection and trust in BJP,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in tweets that followed the party’s victory.

“I assure that we will leave no stone unturned in furthering the development journey of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh. Will serve the people tirelessly,” Modi.

BJP national president Amit Shah said that the victory meant people appreciated Modi’s “development agenda”.

 “BJP's victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh is a victory of PM Narendra Modi's development agenda and against the politics of casteism and appeasement,” Shah said.

BJP looks set to win 44 seats in Himachal and 99 in Gujarat — clear majority in both states.

“The BJP is making the government in both Himachal and Gujarat," Shah said in a press briefing he addressed on Monday.

Shah said that the results proved the merits of “politics of performance” and rejected “dynastic rule, casteism and appeasement”.

“Our vote percentage has increased in Gujarat over 2012. It proves that despite such a severe caste based politics by opponents our vote share increased,” Shah said.

“Most of the top leaders of Congress have lost, which is a result of the party outsourcing the elections to outside. Gujarat results show that the people have rejected all attempts to divide the state.”

“Regarding Himachal we got 10 per cent more votes than 2012. The people of Himachal Pradesh have shown respect towards their long-standing relations with the PM.”

He said that the BJP’s rule in 14 states in the country showed that people trusted the Prime Minister’s development agenda.

“Today, we are in power in 14 states independently and in five states in alliance. This is a reaffirmation of people's faith in the economic and development policies of the Modi government in the Centre. The BJP will also form governments in the next four states due for elections, including Karnataka and Manipur.”

“The vote-share not reducing after two decades of anti-incumbency shows a lot about the mood of the party. The increase in vote-share by more than eight per cent is no small achievement,” Shah. “Despite fall in level of discourse and caste based politics we won in Gujarat for sixth time.”

He also said that Himachal Pradesh’s chief minister would be decided by the party's Parliamentary Board. Its chief ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal lost to Congress's Rajinder Rana in Sujanpur.

”When I predicted 150 for the BJP in Gujarat, I did not know that the political discourse would fall to this level,” he said, adding: “The results are a lesson for those following the politics of appeasement, dynastic and caste based politics. We will win 2019.”   — With agencies