JOIN USWith the last and ninth phase of polls for the Lok Sabha getting over on Monday evening, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, recuperating from aching heels and sore throat after addressing 440 rallies across the country, took a jibe at the ruling Congress party for failing to set an agenda for the 2014 polls.
The BJP sources said after taking a day’s rest on Sunday, Modi is not going to move out of Gujarat till the election results are declared on Friday. Instead, the focus has shifted to Ahmedabad where he has called in the party’s leaders for a stock-taking exercise even as the top brass remained glued to television sets to watch the exit polls on Monday evening.
The Gujarat chief minister has also called a meeting of the state legislators on Tuesday to get feedback from them on the number of LS seats party candidates are expected to win out of 26 in Gujarat.
After courting controversy with his vote appeal at a time when the polling was still on in the Varanasi seat, Modi took to Twitter to broadcast what he thought were the high points of the 72-day long electoral campaign. For him, the electoral process was more stretched out as he had started touring the country immediately after the BJP announced him as the PM candidate.
“Usually ruling party sets agenda of the election but in this campaign ruling party was neither proactive nor responsive, it remained reactive,” was one of his tweets that started rolling in the afternoon.
The BJP leader also tweeted; “NDA remained firmly focussed on the agenda of development & good governance & ensured this became focal points of the entire campaign”.
But, the in-your face campaigning that dominated every medium of communication, starting with the slogan “Abki Baar Modi Sarkar” which was borrowed from the previous NDA slogan of “Abki Bari Atal Bihari”, was personality-driven. Though it started with a good governance and development plank, the electioneering moved away to a communal and caste plank depending on the territory that was going to polls.
Modi was also in a thanksgiving mood. He appreciated the Election Commission and security forces for completing the poll process successfully. “The biggest joy of 2014 elections has been the increased turnout. Braving the scorching heat & the rain people turned out in large numbers,” was another tweet which appreciated the social media for helping him know people more.
He singled out the divided state of Andhra Pradesh where municipal elections results were announced on Monday. “Congratulations to the people of Seemandhra & Telangana for giving favourable results today in municipal elections for the TDP & BJP. This is curtain raiser for 16th May. Both states will give massive mandate for the TDP-BJP alliance in Parliament & Assembly elections,” he stated.