On the day when his party’s principal political opponent, the Aam Aadmi Party, released its poll document, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday tried to woo the poor and lower strata of society — the backbone of the AAP’s support base — by repeating his government’s intent to wage a war against corruption and promise of in-situ development of slums.
Mr. Modi was speaking at an election rally in C.B.D. Ground in East Delhi’s Karkardooma. However, unlike his power-packed addresses ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Saturday speech provided nothing new for Delhi’s voters than what he announced during his speech at the Ramlila Maidan on January 10.
Instead, he said the AAP was a “backstabber” and asked Delhi’s voters not to repeat the “mistake” of voting for the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit.
“The very people whom you voted for last time backstabbed you. They shattered your dreams and destroyed Delhi. You gave them a befitting punishment in the Lok Sabha polls. People do not repeat their mistakes again and again,” Mr. Modi said.
Stating that Delhi had fallen short of giving his party a clear majority in the 2013 Assembly polls, Mr. Modi, in his over half-an-hour address, sought a clear mandate and asserted that his party will provide such a clean and stable government which people have “never seen” in the past.
Without naming the AAP, the Prime Minister made fun of its performance in the Lok Sabha polls saying it “created a world record in forfeiting deposits”. Mr. Modi said he needed a government with whom he could work shoulder-to-shoulder as he wanted an opportunity to “serve” every lane and neighbourhood of Delhi.
In his address, he also complimented the party’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi for her administrative abilities. “She knows Delhi inside out. She has administrative experience and is well versed with the history and geography of Delhi. She is a woman with strong determination. She will take Delhi to new heights.”
Mr. Modi also said that a BJP government will clean up the Yamuna and beautify its surroundings. He touted the government’s move to transfer LPG subsidy directly to people’s bank accounts as a major drive to curb corruption.
After not having addressed any election meetings over three days owing to a severe throat infection, Ms. Bedi, who addressed the crowd before Mr. Modi spoke, said: “Delhi’s development should be linked with Modi’s development.”
She also promised that within three days of assuming the chief ministerial post, she will put into force a civil defence unit for the safety of women in the city, install cameras in vulnerable spots and also reward citizens for good work.
The election rally was in support of BJP’s candidates from 17 Assembly segments of East and North-East Delhi.
