Stand like Prime Minister Narendra Modi at each booth to ensure the BJP‘s victory in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told BJP workers in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday.
“Booth workers should reach out to all beneficiaries [of government schemes], youth, women and farmers. Every booth worker should stand as Narendra Modi at the booth and ensure victory for the BJP,” Mr. Shah said, addressing party’s booth workers in the Khajuraho Lok Sabha constituency.
After the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (both partners in the INDIA coalition) announced their seat-sharing arrangements, Akhilesh Yadav-led party is set to contest from the Khajuraho Lok Sabha seat while the Congress will fight in the remaining 28.
Mr. Shah was in the State to review the BJP’s preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and attended events in Gwalior, Khajuraho and Bhopal.
Earlier in the day, the senior BJP leader held a meeting in Gwalior with the party’s booth management committees of all four Lok Sabha seats under the Gwalior-Chambal cluster — Morena, Bhind, Guna-Shivpuri, and Gwalior.
Later in the evening, he addressed a gathering of intellectuals and influencers in the State capital.
Asking the BJP workers to ensure party’s victory in all 29 Lok Sabha seats in the State, Mr. Shah said, “In 2014, you gave us 27 out of 29 seats, in 2019, it was 28. Last time one seat got left but in 2024, put all 29 seats in Narendra Modi’s lap and take us beyond 400 seats.”
In 2019, the BJP had won 28 parliamentary seats in the State with the Congress bagging the lone Chhindwara constituency.
Mr. Modi has set a target of BJP alone winning more than 370 seats nationwide while the National Democratic Alliance (BJP) crossing the 400-mark.
Slams INDIA bloc
In Bhopal, Mr. Shah also took on the Congress and the Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) terming it a coalition of “seven dynastic political parties”.
“They believe that the Prime Minister’s post is their property. Analyse these seven parties. Sonia Gandhi wants her son as Prime Minister, Sharad Pawar wants his daughter to be the [Maharashtra] Chief Minister and Mamata Banerjee wants to make her nephew the [West Bengal] Chief Minister,” Mr. Shah said, also taking swipes at RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M.K. Stalin, and SP president Akhilesh Yadav.
He also alleged that after 1960s, most of the elections in the country were “marred by casteism, dynasty-politics, appeasement and corruption” as these four factors were used “to influence the mandates”.
“Narendra Modi ji finished all four ulcers in 10 years and established ‘politics of performance’. Today, the nation is heading towards true democracy,” he said.
Mr. Shah also said that 2024 is a crucial year for the world’s democracy as about “40% of the world’s population has undergone or will undergo elections this year”.
In Khajuraho, the Home Minister also attacked former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led UPA government on the issue of corruption, alleging that various scams took place from 2004 to 2014, including the 2G scam, Commonwealth Games scam, coal scam and Maharashtra’s Adarsh Housing Society scam.
Earlier this month, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and one of the accused in the infamous Adarsh Housing Society scam Ashok Chavan quit the Congress and joined the BJP. The ruling party also nominated him for a Rajya Sabha seat from the State.
