Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an emotional speech at the meeting of the BJP parliamentary party here on Wednesday, terming the party’s triumph in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections a “great victory”.
It was the first meeting of the parliamentary party after the elections, and Mr. Modi, along with BJP president Amit Shah, was felicitated by party MPs.
Speaking to the MPs, Mr. Modi was seen holding back tears while remembering the contribution of many leaders, naming Makrand Desai, Arvind Maniya and Vasantrao Gajendragadkar, who contributed to the party’s growth in Gujarat, and his interaction with the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
An MP who was present at the meeting said the Prime Minister described the victory in the two States as a big achievement — especially in Gujarat where the party was voted back to power for the sixth consecutive term.
‘Not an easy thing’
“He said the party workers should not be affected by the Opposition’s disinformation campaign. The victory in Gujarat was a big achievement, to be voted back for a sixth consecutive term was not an easy thing. He said political pundits could perhaps do research into whether any other party, three-and-a-half years in power, had won so many elections and ruled 19 States in the country. He said that as far as he could remember, even the Congress under former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi could not match that feat,” said a senior MP who was present at the meeting.
“He could not hold back tears while recalling an incident in 1999, when the party won 20 of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, and he received a pat on the back from Mr. Vajpayee.”
Mr. Modi was general secretary in charge of the State at that time.
Emphasising hard work, he said the day the campaign in Gujarat concluded, he was in Delhi to attend an all-party meeting in Parliament and toured many States in the interregnum, inviting others to do the same. “His message was that I have given my all to the party and to public service, and we should too,” said another MP who attended the meeting.
Pat for Shah
Exhorting party workers to nurture young talent, he praised party president Amit Shah, recalling his association with Mr. Shah, and how he groomed him despite the 14-year age difference between them.
Briefing presspersons after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said: “Modi ji called for strengthening the party at its roots across the country. He said the work at the booth level is most important, besides people’s blessings for creating a wave in its favour.”
Mr. Shah also addressed the gathering, attacking the Congress over its claims of a moral victory in the Gujarat polls, saying it was a “laughable exercise” for the Opposition to see victory in defeat. He pointed out that the party had received the largest percentage of vote share in these elections, even more than in 2012 when the party had won 116 seats.
