Want to break all previous records in Gujarat, says PM Modi at poll rally

The people of Gujarat have once again made up their minds to elect the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state and they have decided to break all previous records, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, launching his poll campaign from the Adivasi belt of Kaprada with a new slogan, ‘Aa Gujarat mein banavyu che’ (We have made this Gujarat).

The elections in the BJP ruled state will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5 and the counting of votes will take place on December 8. The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for the past 27 years and Modi said that not only in the country but in the world, it would have rarely happened where a political party has been serving the people for such a long time.

“My ABCD starts with A for Adivasi. I have started my poll campaign in Gujarat by taking blessings of my Adivasi brothers and sisters. The people of Gujarat have once again made up their minds to elect the BJP. Not only this, they have decided to break all previous records,” Modi said addressing a huge rally.

“Sitting in Delhi, I am getting the inputs that the BJP will win with a record margin this time in Gujarat. In this election, I have told the Gujarat BJP that I am available for as much time as required. And this time I wish to break all my previous records. The record for Bhupendra (Patel) should be bigger than mine and I want to work to achieve this,” he added.

In the 2002 Gujarat elections, the BJP under chief minister Modi won 127 seats out of the total 182, which is the party’s highest so far in the state. The all-time record in the state is Congress’ 149 seats, won in the mid-eighties under the leadership of Madhavsinh Solanki.

The saffron party in Gujarat under chief minister Bhupendra Patel has 111 MLAs after 14 Congress MLAs switched sides and joined the BJP. In the 2017 elections, the BJP had won 99 seats out of the total 182 and the Congress bagged 77.

“There were communal riots, everything came to a standstill for days together, people had to keep their business shut for days together. The people of Gujarat got together and took this state to where it is today. Gujarat today is developing at a rapid pace and has ample opportunities for all. If you look inside, from deep within a voice will echo that will say, ’Aa Gujarat mein banavyu che’. I want you all to raise your hands and say this,” the Prime Minister told the crowd that responded with the same slogan.

Talking about how Gujarat has turned its fate around in two decades, PM Modi said that when the world thought it would take Gujarat decades to stand again, the people of Gujarat turned the state around and made Gujarat a hub for development.

Modi said the forces that indulged in spreading hatred and defamed Gujarat will be swept out of the state in the upcoming Assembly elections. He said that due to the divisive politics of the Congress, the poor and the backward people never had their basic needs fulfilled. Prime Minister Modi said that more than two decades ago, Gujarat was impoverished and lacked opportunities for the youth, but this has completely changed in these two decades.

PM Modi further added that Gujarat today is developing at a rapid pace and has ample opportunities for all, and to continue this development, the people have to keep supporting the BJP.

He said that at a time when many people are into promoting dynastic politics, his party is promoting as many new faces as possible.

“This election is not fought by Bhupendra or Narendra, the people of Gujarat are fighting this election,” he said.

The Prime Minister also said that the school drop-out rate among girls in Gujarat was very high earlier and that it has come down drastically in the last two decades.

“Many girls used to drop out from schools earlier. We used to conduct visits from village to village and beg them to send their daughters to school. As a result, the school drop-out ratio of girls has gone down and they are pursuing higher education in various fields and are progressing,” he said.

The Prime Minister also attended a mass marriage in Bhavnagar called ‘Papa Ni Pari Lagnotsav 2022’, where over 500 orphan women got married at a public event.

The Gujarat elections are expected to be a three-cornered contest between the BJP, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has gained popularity in the state with its election promises like free electricity.

The Gujarat Congress on Sunday said that they have listed 20 points regarding the failures of the BJP government in the past two and a half decades and that they will take it to the public during their campaigning. “From commercialisation of education, inflation, growing unemployment and rising indebtedness of the state, we will highlight how the BJP has misgoverned for the past 27 years,” the Congress said in a statement.