Saffron sun has risen in Northeast, says Modi

New Delhi: As the BJP demolished the last bastion of the Left in Tripura, looked like it would comfortably form the government in Nagaland with allies and had performed impressively well in Meghalaya, the saffron leadership said that the mandate reflected how the party will perform in forthcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka and the crucial battle for Lok Sabha in 2019.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared the dawn of BJP rule in Tripura with the rising sun which is “saffron” in colour, and the outgoing CPI(M) government with sunset whose colour is red, BJP president Amit Shah asserted that Tripura’s results have proven that the Left is “not right” for any part of the country.

Addressing party workers at the BJP’s newly constructed headquarters after the announcement of poll results in the three states, Mr Modi, thanking the people of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, said, “I have always said that the love and blessings of the people showered on me will be returned with interest, the interest is development.”

Both Mr Modi and Mr Shah said the poll results were a tribute to the party’s workers, many of whom have been victims of the Left’s political violence.

Mr Modi said the BJP’s impressive performance in Tripura was the people’s answer to “fear, lies and confusion” being spread against his government.

In comments laced with sarcasm, Mr Modi targeted the Congress, saying it was never so diminished as a party as it is now, and took an apparent dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying some people grow in designation but shrink in stature. In contrast, he said, BJP chief Amit Shah rose by leading the party to victories in many states.

In Tripura, speculation is rife that the party’s state unit chief Biplab Deb could be the chief ministers of the BJP’s first government in this northeastern state. Mr Shah, sources said, is likely to visit RSS headquarters in Nagpur on Sunday to meet its supremo Mohan Bhagwat. The RSS’ crucial meeting, Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, is scheduled for next week.

In Tripura, the BJP got a majority on its own and won over two-third seats with its ally, Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT). In Nagaland it is in a position to form the government where two biggest regional parties see it as an ally. In Meghalaya, which has thrown up a hung Assembly, the BJP is hopeful of forming a government by cobbling together an alliance.

Mr Shah said that the BJP will share power with its ally, IPFT, which represents the state’s tribal region, despite getting a majority on its own.

Hailing Modi government’s “Act East” policy and thanking the party’s cadres for their hard work in the three states whose polling results were declared on Saturday, Mr Shah predicted that the BJP will wrest power from the Congress in Karnataka and asserted that for all those who used to claim that the BJP is not pan-India, the party has finally become an “Akhil Bhartiya” party.

Mr Shah said that the BJP and its allies now rule 21 states and said that the party will attain its “golden period” when it forms governments in Kerala, West Bengal and Odisha.

Hailing Mr Shah as the architect of poll victories, Mr Modi said though the festival of Holi saw many colours on Friday, on Saturday saffron was the predominant colour.

During his speech, the Prime Minister paused for a while when azaan rang out from a nearby mosque. The crowd chanted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” when the prayer stopped, with the PM joining them before resuming his speech.

Earlier, addressing a press conference, Mr Shah dismissed the Left’s claim that the BJP had used money power in Tripura polls and said that this allegation was being hurled because the Opposition can no longer blame electronic voting machines due to use of voter-verified paper audit trail system. He announced that the party will celebrate “Vijay Utsav” across the country on Sunday.

Rejecting the Congress’ charge that the BJP will resort to horse-trading in Meghalaya, Mr Shah said the verdict is against the Mukul Sangma government and took a swipe at the Congress for sending its two central leaders to the state. Mr Shah also took a dig at Mr Gandhi, who is in Italy. He quipped that “Italy is holding elections too” and added that he had received a message about it on WhatsApp.  

Noting that the BJP and its ally had won all 20 seas reserved for tribals in Tripura, Mr Shah recalled how his party had got only 1.3 per cent votes in 2013 Assembly polls, and had lost its deposit in all but one seat. However, this time party got nearly 43 per cent votes while its ally got close to 8 per cent.

Hailing the BJP’s performance from “shunya” (zero) to “shikhar” (zenith), Mr Modi said that during his recent visit to Puducherry he told the Congress chief minister, V. Narayanasamy, that the Congress leader will soon become a “specimen” as his party will be in power only in his state by June after losing Karnataka, which goes to polls in April-May.

Congress’ popularity was never on a decline as it is today, Mr Modi said and added that BJP workers must be alert that they do not allow Congress culture in the party.

Referring to Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, Mr Modi said neither he nor they (Congress) consider the other their own. “He is a ‘swatantra fauji’ (independent soldier),” said the PM about the Punjab CM.

Later, the BJP’s parliamentary board felicitated the PM. The board also decided to send Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Jual Oram as party observers to Tripura, Union minister J.P. Nadda and general secretary Arun Singh to Nagaland and Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and K.J. Alphons go to Meghalaya to elect the leader of the legislature party.