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'BJP first choice for all': PM Modi on party's big Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar wins
Narendra Modi said the BJP had emerged as the “first choice of everyone” in the country, citing a series of recent electoral outcomes
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the BJP had emerged as the “first choice of everyone” in the country, citing a series of recent electoral outcomes across states including Maharashtra, Kerala and Bihar as evidence of growing public support for the party.
Addressing a rally in Assam, Modi said that over the past “1–1.5 years”, public faith in the BJP had “been continuously on the rise”. He pointed to the recent Bihar elections, claiming that voters had given a “record mandate” to the party.
Referring to urban local body polls, the Prime Minister said that municipal corporation election results in major cities of Maharashtra were declared two days ago. He highlighted Mumbai’s verdict, describing it as a “historic mandate” and noting that the BJP had won there “for the first time in one of the world’s largest municipal corporations."
The Prime Minister went to laud the party’s performance in Kerala, saying the BJP received strong public backing in the state’s municipal elections. He added that Thiruvananthapuram now has a BJP mayor “for the first time”, calling it another sign of the party’s expanding footprint beyond its traditional strongholds.
Taking a swipe at Congress' performance in Maharashtra, PM Modi said the party was “born in Mumbai” but today it “stands in the 4th or 5th position in the city.”
“Congress has lost the faith of the country because it has no development agenda,” the Prime Minister added.
In the recently concluded election for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the BJP came to power for the first time after defeating the long-standing Thackeray hold. PM was referring to Congress settling for just 24 seats in a House of 227, while the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 89 seats.
Meanwhile, in Kerala last month, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) created history by wresting control of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in a local body election otherwise dominated by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) across the state. The NDA’s victory brought an end to the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) 45-year-long control of the Thiruvananthapuram civic body.
In the 101-member corporation, the BJP-led NDA won 50 wards, while the Congress-led UDF secured just 19, the LDF 29, and the other two.
