BJP president Amit Shah cited the BJP’s victories in local body polls in Chandigarh, Rajasthan and lately in Mumbai and Odisha to assert that the Opposition had read the mood of the country wrong on demonetisation.
In an interview to The Hindu , Mr. Shah responded to the Opposition and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s contention that demonetisation would hurt the BJP’s electoral prospects.
“Perhaps, Rahulji is not aware about the string of election results that have come out in the last couple of months post-demonetisation.“
He claimed that the party’s “strong electoral performance” was “clear proof” that the people were “firmly with the government’s demonetisation drive to rid the country of black money.”
“The third quarter GDP growth at 7% shows that demonetisation did not impact the economy and belies the claims of the Opposition that demonetisation would hurt growth. I am sure on March 11, your headline will be ‘BJP demonetises the Opposition in U.P.’,” he said.
Reflecting on the closely fought polls and the absence of a clear wave, Mr. Shah did not name any of the opposing parties in the fray, the Samajwadi Party-Congress combine or the Bahujan Samaj Party as a rival.
“U.P. is a vast State and each constituency has its local factors influencing the choice of voters. Hence our opponents differ from constituency to constituency. That said, we are contenders for the top position in each of the 403 seats,” he said.
Mr. Shah has kept the reins of the campaign tightly in his hands, and said that the results will “hasten the end of dynasty, caste and religion-based politics in the country.” He added that being a cadre-based party, the BJP would choose a “hardworking and loyal” member to become Chief Minister in the event of a victory.
