BJP poster boy and Gujarat Chief Minister Narenda Modi on Sunday started his innings as head of the election campaign committee on a high.
Before his maiden speech at the mammoth ‘Sankalp rally,’ Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal labelled Modi the ‘crown’ in the presence of senior party leaders. Badal predicted a complete washout of the Congress in the State.
launching a veiled attack on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Badal said, “Opponents of Modi have already run away from the poll arena and shying away from naming their prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 lok Sabha polls. Modiji, you will lead us to victory in the lok Sabha polls.”
The Punjab CM invited thundering applause from the jam-packed spot.
Modi’s first appearance in Punjab seems to have galvanised party cadre. There were also a large number of BJYM workers and women supporters with placards, braving sultry weather.
Modi first offered floral tribute to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee along with Badal. He was greeted by a standing ovation on stage. He started his speech by paying homage to victims of the Uttarakhand flash floods and assured all possible help to the people.
In his 40-minute speech, Modi thanked seniors and made an attempt to reach out to ‘sulking’ leaders and other ‘like-minded’ parties. He promised he would work for bringing parties and hearts together to realise Mookerjee’s dream.
Striking an emotional chord with local party workers, Modi reminded them that while he was in-charge of the party in Haryana, Himanchal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh and Jammu & Kashmir, several senior leaders — including Badal, Shanta Kumar and Balramdass Tandon — guided him on local issues.
The Gujarat CM said this way, he had learnt the art of working with leaders of different parties as in-charge, pointing out, “I had the privilege of working closely with former Deputy Prime Minister Devi lal, Bansilal in Haryana, Farooq Abdullah in J&K and others in Gujarat.”