BJP back in saddle in four states, now it’s HP, Gujarat’s turn: Nadda
SHIMLA: BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday said the party’s resounding victory in four of the five states that went to the polls recently was a stamp of approval on the policies and programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing party workers at a felicitation function organised by the Himachal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Nadda said: “We have returned to power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur and now it’s Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat’s turn.” Both states go to the polls this year-end.
This was Nadda’s first visit to his home state since the February-march assembly elections. He took part in a roadshow with chief minister Jai Ram Thakur before addressing the public meeting at Hotel Peterhoff in Shimla.
Lists out many firsts in UP
Nadda said the BJP had achieved many firsts in the UP elections. “A party has come back to power in UP for the first time in 38 years. Also, a chief minister has taken oath for the second consecutive term,” said Nadda, adding that the BJP had swept 23 districts in the recent elections.
On the other hand, Nadda said, candidates of the Congress, which ruled the country for 70 years, forfeited their security deposit in 387 of the 399 constituencies it contested.
Taking a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said, “A new party was creating a lot of noise before the elections. But its candidates forfeited security deposits in all 377 constituencies it contested.”
Nadda said in neighbouring Uttarakhand also, a government has been voted back to power for the first time since the state came into being.
“Under BJP rule, Manipur where blockades were frequent and insurgency on the rise, has turned into a state of peace and prosperity. For the first time, the BJP has formed a government in the northeastern state on its own,” he said, adding that his party had scored a hat-trick in Goa.
Maintaining that Himachal Pradesh has scaled new heights in terms of development under Jai Ram Thakur’s leadership, Nadda said party workers should reach out to the masses and publicise the policies and programmes of the state government.