Top BJP leaders on Saturday exuded confidence that the party will retain power in four states and make impressive gains in Punjab.
Addressing a joint press conference in Delhi ahead of the final phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh, BJP president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah said those hoping for any dilution in the party’s mandate in the state would be disappointed and it will get a massive majority.
“The BJP is set to come back with a firm majority in the states we were in the government – Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur,” Nadda said.
Both Shah and Nadda were emphatic in rejecting the possibility of the BJP needing the support of parties outside its alliance to form a government in Uttar Pradesh.
Nadda also dismissed the view that there is a close fight in the state, saying such claims are often made during the polls but the BJP ends up winning a strong majority.
Shah asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has replaced the politics of casteism, appeasement and nepotism with the politics of performance, and this has not just defined the agenda of BJP but also that of the entire nation for the future.
To a query on the government’s handling of the Ukraine crisis, especially the evacuation of students, he said it will have a positive impact on polls. He said the government had issued an advisory as early as February 15 for Indians in Ukraine.
Underlining that the party ran a scientific and well-organised campaign, Shah said, “We saw Prime Minister Modi’s popularity in five states where polls were held was more than that of any earlier prime minister of independent India and the BJP has got the direct benefit of this in the elections.” Shah also said he is confident that BJP will return to power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur and make impressive gains in Punjab.
In Uttar Pradesh, Shah said some leaders might have left the party, but not the voters.
The government headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has fulfilled ”over 92.6 percent” of promises made in the 2017 polls and successfully implemented the central government’s policies in the state, Shah said.
With inputs from NDTV
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