(Piyush Goyal is a member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha and national treasurer of Bharatiya Janata Party)The largest democratic exercise the world has ever seen concluded three days ago. People of India deserve to be complimented for making the 2014 elections a referendum on the misrule of the Congress-led UPA and demonstrating their faith in a proven new leadership. Young India deserves a pat on their back for increasing the turnout to the highest ever in India's history, and giving a decisive mandate which is seemingly loud and clear in its hunger for change, if one goes by the exit polls.
I am an optimist. I strongly feel that we deserve to be nothing less than the foremost country in the world. A new India, fired by aspirations that might have so far been muted given the sense of despondency brought about by a decade of bad governance and massive corruption, has awakened from its sleep. Indians crave for good governance and visionary leadership; In Shri Narendra Modi, the nation is on the verge of electing a Prime Minister who embodies the above qualities and is also a torchbearer of integrity.
Shri Narendra Modi has walked the talk and demonstrated how he has transformed Gujarat - 24x7 electricity to all villages, best-in-class road connectivity, revolutionary water management (both for farms & households) and taken major initiatives in improving socio-economic indicators such as healthcare, nutrition and education. The people are convinced that based on this successful track-record, the principles of the Gujarat Model of socio-economic development, in conjunction with our learnings in other BJP-ruled states, can be applied pan-India. I am sure that the new government, led by Shri Modi and comprising a galaxy of eminent leaders and thinkers shall have the political will to lead from the front and initiate path-breaking changes rapidly, and at scale!
The run-up to the Lok Sabha elections has, unfortunately, seen undignified mud-slinging and false accusations leveled against Shri Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. As will be evident in less than 36 hours, the people of India have chosen to ignore the malice of some political leaders, and self-proclaimed "intellectuals" and "liberals" who have dragged on a motivated agenda ad nauseum despite all these unfounded accusations being repeatedly proven hopelessly wrong, even by the judiciary. It is a matter of pride for all Indians that the country has chosen to move on from this "ghisa-pita" debate, which has stretched beyond all reason.
India now stands at the cusp of a new dawn, powered by the conviction that the new government will take to fruition the dreams and aspirations of a billion plus people. There is no room any more for the divisive agenda which has been sought to be foisted on the common man. It is time for fresh beginnings. I look forward to India's journey to glory, led by a new charioteer Shri Narendra Modi who believes in "Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas".
Together we will build 'Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat!'
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