Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday asked the BJP not to be too enthusiastic over its performance in the Assembly polls, saying the party’s percentage of votes decreased compared to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
“BJP should not be over-enthusiastic with its victory in assembly elections.
It took the party 65 years to gain enough confidence to form a government in Assam, and open its account in Kerala,” he said in an apparent reference to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh which was formed in 1951.
The BJP has “forgotten” its slogans like ‘party with a difference’ and ‘good governance’, Mr. Gehlot said, adding that it now “uses muscle-power and money-power in elections.”
“Though the party has won in Assam, its leaders should not forget that the state was ruled by Congress for 15 years now,” Mr. Gehlot said.
Vote percentage
He said the vote percentage of the BJP came down in the Assembly elections when compared to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
“Those who talk about Congress-free India should remember that BJP could win only two seats in 1984 Lok Sabha elections, but despite that Congress had never talked about Jana Sangh or BJP-free India because of its faith in democracy,” he said. PTI
