By P.S. Anantharaman, IANS
Ahmedabad : A beaming Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Sunday thanked the “55 million Gujaratis” for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s thumping win in the assembly elections and termed his victory as a “positive vote”.
He urged all parties and all those who love Gujarat to rise above political equations and rededicate themselves for the progress of the state.
“This is a positive vote. This vote was to bring back the government to power,” a confident Modi told reporters at the BJP office here.
“The people of Gujarat have rejected the negative campaign and given a positive vote. The anti-Gujarat forces have been defeated,” said Modi, as he appealed to his supporters to accept the verdict with humility and sagacity.
He described the victory as the “fruit of toil” of the party workers and appealed to all political parties to work for the betterment of the state.
“Gujarat is celebrating its golden jubilee in 2010. I appeal to all political parties, all those who love Gujarat and supporters inside and outside the country, to support the development of the state.”
Modi credited the BJP’s victory to the party cadres and the national leadership as well as the people of Gujarat.
In a statement earlier, Modi said: “I thank the people of Gujarat for giving me the responsibility of governance for another term.”
“I humbly accept the historic verdict of the people,” he said. “Let us rise above political equations and rededicate ourselves for the development of the state.
“The credit for the victory goes not to me or the BJP but to the five and a half crore (55 million) people of Gujarat, because the agenda for the election was set not by any political party but by them.
“In the mandate after the elections fought on the issue of development, this is a victory of the people of Gujarat. By defeating the anti-Gujarat elements, Gujarat has made its decision to continue its victory march.”
Modi also thanked his party and its senior leaders “for putting confidence in me as a BJP worker”.
Calling the win “historic”, he said “the people of Gujarat, hundreds of thousands of BJP workers and the guidance of the central leadership have scripted a new chapter in history”.
As he arrived at the BJP office from his official residence in capital Gandhinagar, he was greeted by a crowd of thousands of party supporters who shouted “Modi Zindabad”.
State BJP president Purushottam Rupala garlanded him and they offered sweets to each other and then to supporters.
In a gesture, not different from the one he made at the same spot almost exactly five years ago, Modi smiled at the crowd and made a victory sign before Rupala led him in to address the press.
He took only one question from the media. Asked if his predecessor and arch-rival within the party, Keshubhai Patel, had greeted him, he said yes. “Congratulatory messages are coming in. The prime minister (Manmohan Singh) has also sent his message.”
Taking a dig at the media, that has often been very critical of him, he added: “I am ready to accept congratulations from you too if you can. Friends, the election process is now over.”
Another taunt came when photographers asked him to pose. He replied with a smile: “I should sometime fulfil your wishes too.”