Amit Shah: BJP's footprint is increasing with every election
BJP president Amit Shah addressed a press conference after his party's astounding performance in North-East polls. He thanked people of Tripura and Nagaland for reposing faith in BJP and its alliance partners. Calling the verdict historic, he asserted that BJP's electoral footprint is increasing with every election. He proudly announced that BJP-led NDA will be in power in 21 states after these wins.
Shah mocks Left Front parties: Left is not right
After a neat victory in Tripura, where BJP was pitted against ideological nemesis CPI(M), Shah goaded that "Left is not right for any part of India." He added that first they were packed off from WB and now Tripura. He dedicated the victory to BJP/RSS workers who died in clashes with CPI(M) cadre. He claimed that workers have faced communist violence with "exemplary bravery."
'Now, BJP is a pan-India party'
Shah said BJP has now established itself as a pan-India party. He said, "It was once said that BJP was only a Hindi-belt party. But today, that's been proven wrong. We have an MP in Ladakh and Kerala and government in Kohima and Kutch." He refused to call this BJP's golden period, asserting that will come after wins in Odisha, Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka.
Shah also commended BJP's high vote-share
In terms of vote-share, BJP achieved its best-ever figures in the three states. In Tripura, its vote-share rose a whopping 42.8% from a paltry 1.5% in 2013. In Nagaland too, it rose from a negligible 2% to a respectable 14.5%. Shah expressed satisfaction about this and claimed that these results are a forerunner to the upcoming Karnataka elections, where BJP is pitted against Congress.
'BJP's performance should be credited to PM Modi's North-East focus'
Shah attributed BJP's win to Modi. He said, "In 2014, PM said India's Western part saw more development than East, which is ignored. Immediately after becoming PM, he began his 'Act East' policy. He is the first PM after Morarji Desai to work for North-East."
