Union home minister Amit Shah, on November 14, said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get re-elected in Gujarat with a thumping majority and break all its previous records.
Shah, who is campaigning in the poll-bound state, said this in an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi at News18’s ‘Gujarat Adhiveshan’ on Monday.
“Since Diwali, I have been visiting Gujarat and I am saying it with confidence that the BJP will break all its election records. It’s our endeavour to reach out to the voters in the state. People who support the party and our workers will have to make sure they come out and vote,” said Shah.
In 1985, the BJP had won 149 out of the 182 seats in Gujarat. This time, the party is eyeing 150 seats. Elections in Gujarat are scheduled to be held in two phases -- on December 1 and 5.
In the 2017 Assembly polls, the Congress campaign was led by Rahul Gandhi and they restricted the BJP’s tally to 99. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a new entrant into Gujarat, has made the contest triangular this time, with its growing popularity.
“Through the elections, we want to expand our organisation and the party’s ideology. We want to provide a secure and strong government in Gujarat. The BJP has not lost any election in the state since 1990. We have worked as per the aspirations of the people,” said Shah.
He said that the people of Gujarat have suffered when Congress was ruling the state. “During the Congress rule, the state used to remain under curfew for 250 days a year. Today, if you ask a kid about curfews, he would fail to reply. Because he has not seen a curfew,” Shah added.
The party has worked extensively to improve the law and order situation in the state, following which investment in the state and education have improved, he said.
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