BJP freed eastern Indian states from politics of hatred, now it's Bengal's turn: Modi

Malda (WB), Jan 17 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said eastern India had for decades remained "trapped by politics of hatred", and was freed from that grip by the BJP, asserting that the region's development was central to India's goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047.

Addressing a rally in Malda, Modi said the growing acceptance of the BJP across eastern India reflected people's trust in what he described as the party's "new model of good governance and development".

"Our country is working towards the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, and for that, the development of eastern India is essential. For decades, eastern India was trapped by politics of hatred. The BJP freed these states from that grip," the Prime Minister said.

He pointed to recent electoral outcomes in the region to underline his claim.

"If the people of eastern India place their trust in any party today, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party. Odisha has formed a BJP government for the first time, Tripura has trusted the BJP for many years, Assam also extended its support to the BJP in the previous elections, and just a few days ago, Bihar too has once again formed an NDA government," Modi said.

With BJP-led governments on "all sides of Bengal", he said, the state should now follow suit. "This means that on all sides of Bengal, there are BJP governments delivering good governance. Now it is Bengal's turn," he added.

The prime minister also cited recent civic poll results from across the country to argue that the BJP's political footprint was expanding into areas where it was earlier considered weak.

"The BJP has created a new model of good governance and development, and people across the country are blessing it," Modi said, referring to the results of urban local body elections in Maharashtra announced a day earlier.

In the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the BJP on Friday broke the nearly three-decade-old dominance of the undivided Shiv Sena to emerge as the single largest party, while also defeating the Nationalist Congress Party factions led by Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar in the Pune civic body.

Results of elections in all the 227 wards in Mumbai were declared around midnight. The BJP won 89 seats and its ally Shiv Sena bagged 29, while Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 65 and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena six seats. The Congress, which fought in alliance with the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, won 24 seats, AIMIM eight, NCP three, the Samajwadi Party two and NCP (SP) just one seat.

Modi described the BMC outcome as "historic", while also referring to the BJP securing its first mayor in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Left-ruled Kerala, recently.

"Places where it was once considered impossible for the BJP to win are now giving us unprecedented support," he said, claiming that voters, especially Gen Z, were increasingly backing the BJP's development agenda.

"Where lies and misinformation were spread against the BJP for years, voters are now blessing us," the Prime Minister added. PTI PNT NN