Assembly Poll Verdict 2016: Why BJP Says It has Won More Than Assam

New Delhi: The ruling BJP has bagged Assam and made in-roads in Kerala and West Bengal in a morale-boosting state election verdict that comes as the Modi government completes its second anniversary. The party has laid the foundation for 2019, said its chief Amit Shah.

"Across India, people are placing their faith in BJP and see it as the party that can usher in all-round and inclusive development," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reflecting the party's euphoria after defeats in Bihar and Delhi last year, which raised questions on whether it had lost its steam after its 2014 national election victory.

PM Modi also tweeted about Kerala.
 

I salute all those who built the BJP in Kerala, brick by brick, decade after decade. It is due to them that we are seeing this day.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 19, 2016

The election results come at a time political parties are prepping for the mammoth polls next year in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand.

Amit Shah called the result a "stamp of approval" on Narendra Modi's performance over the last two years.

"The unmatched efforts and sacrifice of party workers in Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu has established a strong party base in these states," said Mr Shah.

The BJP's performance, especially in Bengal, comes as sweet vindication for Mr Shah, whose leadership had come under scrutiny after recent poll setbacks.

Mr Shah began his spadework in Bengal a year ago, addressing a string of rallies in which he targeted Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool.

The victory in Assam indicates a wider endorsement of the BJP's campaign against illegal immigration from Bangladesh for many years.

Sources believe the party's strategy of projecting its chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal in all posters and banners, instead of PM Modi, was effective.

In the Bihar polls, using PM Modi as the face of its campaign is seen to have backfired for the BJP.