A new India that is about opportunities for the poor...Voters don't want appeasement: Modi
A "new India" was at the centre of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory speech on Sunday evening as the BJP celebrated its performance in assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and other states. As he arrived at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, PM Modi got off his car and walked a short stretch, waving to hundreds of workers and supporters lined up to greet him. They shouted slogans in his praise and showered the Prime Minister with flower petals as he headed into the party office. PM Modi then headed a meeting of the BJP's parliamentary board or the party's top decision makers.
Here are the 10 developments in this story:
"I am seeing a new India, the India of the dreams of the youth. A new India that fulfills the aspirations of our women. A new India that is about opportunities for the poor... The poor are saying, I want to progress and I seek the opportunity from you," the Prime Minister said in his victory speech, describing the BJP's big election wins as an opportunity to serve the people.
He said the BJP's government would work for everyone regardless of whether they voted for the party or not. "I am not one to run according an election calendar. We have goal in front of us: 2022. It will be the 75th anniversary of India's Independence. If 125 crore Indians pledge to help this country advance for five years, India will not be behind," he said.
In election results announced yesterday, the BJP has won UP and Uttarakhand and is also set to stake claim to for government in Goa and Manipur, states where it came second behind the Congress. Both states gave a majority to no party, and the BJP says it has tied up the support needed.
The BJP has won 312 of 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh - 325 along with allies - and has credited PM Modi for its most important victory since winning the 2014 national election. At the parliamentary board meeting, PM Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and other leaders discussed the elections in five states.
An important decision they took was that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar should be sent back to Goa. The newly elected BJP legislators in the state want him to lead them and be the chief minister, a post he held before he was called to Delhi to be union minister.
Two regional parties have said they will back the BJP if Mr Parrikar becomes the chief minister. The BJP, which has won 13 seats in the 40-member Goa assembly, needs the support of eight more legislators to stake claim to form government.
PM Modi and the others also discussed who will be the chief minister in UP and Uttarakhand. The party has chosen a group of observers who will travel to the four states to supervise the election of leaders of the party in the new assemblies.
Union minister JP Nadda said senior party leaders Venkaiah Naidu and Bhupinder Yadav will go to Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Tomar to Uttarakhand, Piyush Goyal and Vinay Sahasrabuddhe to Manipur. Nitin Gadkari is already in Goa as an observer. Party chief Amit Shah will take the final decision after getting their reports. The new chief ministers are likely to be announced only after the festival of Holi tomorrow.
The choice of chief minister in Uttar Pradesh, the country's most-populous state, is crucial since that person will lead the state party into preps for the 2019 national election when the BJP will want to replicate its sweep in 2014. The party's 71 of UP's 80 seats was a big contribution to its win in Parliament.
Among those said to be in the running for new UP chief minister are Keshav Prasad Maurya, the state party chief, Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma, Manoj Sinha, a union minister, and Sidharth Nath Singh, BJP national secretary.
Post a comment