Satyadev Pachauri won Murli Manohar Joshi's Kanpur seat (File)
The massive BJP win in the Lok Sabha election seems to have soften up party veteran Murli Manohar Joshi, who was upset over being denied an election nomination. The leader has showered praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah who began their day after the win with visits to Mr Joshi and another BJP founding-member LK Advani.
"It is our party culture to meet and take blessings of senior leaders to work more effectively in the future. Both of them did a good job and have achieved a magical victory," he was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
PM Modi, a day after his super-sized victory in the national election, began his morning with visits to BJP veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi - who had felt slighted after they were asked to sit out these polls - and tribute to both on Twitter.
"Called on respected Advani Ji. The BJP's successes today are possible because greats like him spent decades building the party and providing a fresh ideological narrative to the people," PM Modi tweeted, along with a photo at Mr Advani's home with BJP President Amit Shah.
PM Modi tweeted on his meeting with Murli Manohar Joshi too. "Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi is a scholar and intellectual par excellence. His contribution towards improving Indian education is remarkable. He has always worked to strengthen the BJP and mentor several Karyakartas, including me. Met him this morning and sought his blessings," he tweeted.
Mr Advani's constituency Gandhinagar had gone to Mr Shah, who won it by over 5 lakh votes. Mr Joshi's seat Kanpur went to Satyadev Pachauri, who also defeated Congress veteran Sriprakash Jaiswal.
The BJP has won 302 seats, a considerable increase in its 2014 tally. The National Democratic Alliance, which the BJP leads, crossed the 350 mark. The Congress is reduced to 52 seats, a slight increase in its previous general election performance.
With inputs from ANI