Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the successful evacuation of Indians from the war-hit Ukraine had a positive impact on the assembly polls, and noted that the government had been keeping an eye on the situation there since January.
Mr Shah made these remarks at a press conference where he and BJP president J P Nadda also asserted that their party will return to power in all four poll-bound states, including in Uttar Pradesh, where it is incumbent and make impressive gains in Punjab.
Asked about the impact the government's handling of the Ukraine crisis, especially the evacuation of students, may have on the polls, he said it will be positive.
He that the government has been keeping an eye on the situation in Ukraine since January. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been acting on the issue with alacrity.
He said the government had issued an advisory as early as February 15 for Indians in Ukraine.
Russia launched its military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.
"Over 13,000 citizens have reached India and more flights are coming in. This process has a positive impact on elections and on the people also," Mr Shah said.
The government launched 'Operation Ganga' for the evacuation of Indians from Ukraine.
Mr Shah said, "The government sent Russian-speaking teams to four nearby countries of Ukraine and also set up a control room. Till March 4, we were successful in bringing out 16,000 citizens from Ukraine."
With the Ukrainian airspace having been shut since February 24 due to the ongoing Russian military offensive, Indian citizens who were stuck in Ukraine are being airlifted via its neighbouring countries such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.
The last of the seven-phase assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh will be held on March 7. Votes will be counted on March 10, along with that of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Modi Government Committed To Building Terror-Free India: Amit Shah Police Case Against Actor-Politician Mithun Chakraborty For 'Provocative' Speech Case Against BJP's Mithun Chakraborty For "Provocative" Speech In Bengal Trump's Immigration Curbs To Impact Millions Of Indians, Their Children Trump Asks Musk To Join Call With Zelensky In Big Hint At His Possible Role Elon Musk Replies To 'We Need Your Help Removing Trudeau' Post With Little Water, Displaced Lebanese Women Worry About Periods After Hamas Rejection Of Hostage Deal, US Asked Qatar To Expel The Group Vaccine Skeptic RFK Jr's New Mission Is To "Make America Healthy Again" Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.