With a double gift in hand on the eve of Deepawali, the BJP on Sunday declared that Haryana and Maharashtra poll results “are two steps more” in making “India Congress-free”.
In line with Narendra Modi’s lok Sabha poll call to have “a Congress-mukt Bharat”, BJP president Amit Shah said: “It is evident that people have rejected the Congress as it does not now have even numbers to get leader of Opposition posts in the two States”.
In the middle of bursting of crackers, beating of drums and spontaneous celebrations by party workers, Shah said: “The poll victory is a stamp of approval of the Modi Government’s work and policies at the Centre”.
As the election results made it clear that the BJP was to form Governments in both the States, a confident Shah walked in to address a Press conference at the party headquarters here flanked by general secretary JP Nadda, Haryana election in-charge and Madhya Pradesh MP Vijayvargiya, national secretary and joint in-charge of Haryana Anil Jain and national secretary and media in-charge Shrikant Sharma. Answering a flurry of questions, Shah said the poll results “bear the stamp” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and governance at the Centre in the last four-months.
Shah said it is “clear” that Narendra Modi has become the “undisputed” leader of India as the “tsunami” of his “popularity” continues unabated post-lok Sabha polls. On the defeat of the Congress in the polls, the BJP president said the Congress did not even get leaders of Opposition in the two States.
He said the victory for the BJP in the two States was the biggest in electoral history.Asked about support reportedly offered by the NCP, Shah said, “It is unconditional and outside support”. “The NCP does not want to join the Government. No talks were held with anybody so far,” he said to another question on Government formation process in Maharashtra.
The BJP leader said his party would form the Government in both the States and work for good governance without being “vindictive”.Shah said the results proved his party’s decision and demand to contest more seats in both the States. He said in both the States it was not the BJP with broke the alliances.
The maximum seats BJP contested in Haryana in previous Assembly elections was 26 and never ever got more than 16 seats, the party chief said, while noting that in the outgoing House, it had only four MlAs.“This time we contested all the 90 seats for the first time and won handsomely,” Shah said as he observed that the party was set to get clear majority.
In the previous elections, BJP got 9 per cent votes in Haryana and this time it is 33 per cent, he said. As about Maharashtra, he said the BJP never contested more than 119 seats. But after break-up with the Shiv Sena, the party contested all the 288 seats and was set to win 123 seats. The BJP had won 46 seats last time.About vote-share, he said the BJP had got 14 per cent in the last elections but this time it has gone up to 27.8 per cent, which is a “big jump”.Asked whether Modi could attract Dalit votes, he said they have voted for the party.