Ahmedabad: PM Narendera Modi, who will take oath on Thursday evening, had gone to Ahmedabad on Sunday to take the blessings of his mother. PM Modi’s 98-year-old mother Heeraben lives with PM Modi younger Brother Pankaj Modi.
While there, he also held a rally and addressed the people of his home state. The prime minister addressed the gathering at JP Chowk outside the BJP office in Khanpur area, which he ruled as a Chief Minister for 13 years.”I am here for a darshan of the people of Gujarat. The blessings of the state’s citizens have always been very special for me,” said the Prime Minister, who landed in Ahmedabad to a grand welcome from BJP workers. The coming years, PM Modi said, will be about “jan bhagidari” (participation of people in governance) and “jan chetna” (raising awareness).
“This is a pro-incumbency vote. A vote to reinstate the present government. In the beginning of the poll campaign, I had told it is not BJP or its candidates who are contesting, it is the people who are contesting the polls… The word ‘wave’ is too small to describe the poll results this time,” he said. This big mandate brings big responsibilities. It is important to remain humble and grounded in the wake of such a massive win.
PM Modi, who had repeatedly claimed that the election, instead of an anti-incumbency, had a pro-incumbency wave. He referred to the matter again on Sunday, saying, “After the sixth phase of polling, I had said that it’s 300 plus for us. When I said it, people mocked me. But the results are for everyone to see”.The BJP has won 303 seats in the Lok Sabha, way above 2014 score of 282 seats. After the fifth phase, party chief Amit Shah had claimed the party had crossed 300 seats.
PM also expressed grief over the death of 22 students in Surat building fire tragedy. “Till yesterday, I was in two minds whether to go for this felicitation function or not as on one hand, there was kartvya (duty) and on the other hand, there was karuna (compassion) for those who died in Surat. No amount of words can reduce the grief of the families who have lost their children in that tragedy,” he said. The function was kept simple in the wake of the tragic incident in Surat, he noted.