Modi bids farewell to Maninagar

For Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi, Tuesday could well have been his most emotionally charged day.

First, he broke down as he delivered his maiden speech in the parliament hall in Delhi, and again in the evening while taking part in his last public rally in Gujarat as the state Chief Minister.

Bidding farewell to his constituency Maninagar in Ahmedabad, Modi chose to address the gathering in Gujarati. It was sheer emotional connect with the people of his constituency who have been returning him for three consecutive terms beginning 2002.

He recalled that it was the voters’ chant of ‘PM’ during his campaign in the assembly election in 2012 which  encouraged him to work hard and take up the new responsibility.

He said it was two years ago that the people of this constituency had made up their mind to see him as the PM and he had to remind them then that he was their CM.

“It is love and affection from people like you around me that has enabled the BJP to realise its dream and that is the only reason that all the three terms that I won from here, I have won with a thumping majority,” said Modi.

Making his last speech as an MLA, he said though he would be vacating the constituency, he had ensured that the next representative would be more efficient than him and the development of the constituency would continue unhampered. He reminded the people of the constituency that the centenary of the formation of Maninagar was next year. 

“You, the people of the constituency should celebrate the completion of a century,’’ urged Modi to loud cheers. He said, for the nation he might be the PM, but for the people of  Maninagar he was their Narendrabhai, whom they had seen sipping tea, or take a walk in the morning at Kankaria lake (which has now become a landmark and hotspot) or have food at the neighbouring society.

Modi assured the people of Maninagar, amidst the presence of state party leaders and the probable CM Anandi Patel, that the Gujarat growth story and Gujarat model of development would be maintained even in his absence.