The Hindu : National : A positive vote: Modi

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Monday, Dec 24, 2007
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A positive vote: Modi

“People have voted for Jeetega Gujarat”

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the hard work of the party workers and guidance of the top brass had borne fruit.

“I want to thank the 5.5 crore people of Gujarat for this victory,” Mr. Modi told a press conference at the BJP’s state unit headquarters here.

“This is the fifth time we have won in Gujarat and most of the time we have won with a two-thirds majority. This vote is a positive vote to bring back the government. All the negative propaganda used in the campaign has been rejected by the people,” he said.

“The forces against Gujarat have been defeated. People have voted to strengthen the mantra Jeetega Gujarat,” Mr. Modi said. He said his government would continue to work for Gujarat’s progress.

A golden moment

Addressing a public meeting in his Maninagar constituency, he cautioned that “people who have not been able to digest the BJP’s victory” will try to create hurdles in the state’s progress. “I pray to God to give them strength.”

“The people of Gujarat felt that the development work should not be stopped. They felt that hurdles should not be created in the state’s progress and so they voted for the BJP,” he said.

Mr. Modi assured the people of Maninagar that once he assumed office he would not do anything that they would be ashamed of.

Terming the electoral victory “as a golden moment for the BJP”, he said “apart from [Left-ruled] West Bengal, no party has been able to continuously remain in power in any state for so long.”

“Since 1990, we [the BJP] have won five times in Gujarat,” he said and thanked the people of Maninagar for electing him by a huge margin. “Though I campaigned for just 25 minutes in Maninagar, the people of Maninagar supported me and fought the elections on my behalf.”

“In Maninagar, Narendra Modi had no role in the victory because it was the people who fought for me,” he said.

He said that in earlier elections Maninagar witnessed just 23 per cent voting but this year the turnout was as high as 61 per cent.

He invited the gathering to the Sardar Patel Stadium at Navrangpura here on December 27 where a new BJP government will take oath.

Earlier in the evening, Mr. Modi, dressed in a saffron attire, addressed a gathering of BJP workers at the party office in Khanpur here. “A ‘Vijay Sabha’ (victory ceremony) will be held at the party office here on Monday to celebrate the victory. I will talk to you in detail then,” Mr. Modi said, even as his supporters chanted his name and appealed to him to continue his speech.

A festive atmosphere prevailed at the BJP office. The workers, who had turned out in large numbers, danced and distributed sweets. — PTI

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