The Prime Minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party is going to be the "natural choice" of the people in the Lok Sabha elections expected to be held in April-May next year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a dig at opposition parties seeking to put up a combined fight against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, saying there is a consensus among people that the "country doesn't need a mili-juli sarkar" and that the country "has lost 30 years" due to instability resulting from such formations.
In an interview with India Today, the Prime Minister said the Bharatiya Janata Party is going to be the "natural choice" of the people in the Lok Sabha elections expected to be held in April-May next year.
He said the period of "mili-juli sarkar" has been marked by corruption and appeasement politics. "Today there is a consensus amongst the people, the experts, the opinion makers and friends from the media too - our country doesn't need a mili-juli sarkar. We have lost 30 years due to instability resulting from mili-juli sarkar. People have seen the lack of governance, appeasement politics, and corruption in the era of mili-juli sarkar. This resulted in the loss of optimism and confidence among the people and gave a bad image to India in the world. So, naturally, the choice of people is BJP," the Prime Minister said.
Twenty-eight oppositon parties including Congress have formed INDIA bloc to take on the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 polls. The parties have the difficult task of seat-sharing on their hands. PM Modi also said the BJP is the single largest party in southern India in terms of Lok Sabha seats.
"Today, there is no corner of the country where our party does not have support. From local bodies in Kerala to being the principal opposition in many states, our party is doing robust work among the people...Six months back, we had a government in Karnataka. Even today, the BJP is in government in six northeastern states, including predominantly Christian-majority states like Nagaland and Meghalaya. We currently govern in 16 states and are the principal opposition in eight," PM Modi said.
On the question of the BJP selecting fresh faces as Chief Ministers for three Hindi heartland states, the Prime Minister said that this is not a new trend for his party.
"It may appear like a fresh trend but this is not a new trend," he said, adding that he is the best example of this practice within the BJP.
The Prime Ministe said when he became the CM of Gujarat, he had no prior administrative experience and was not even elected to the Legislative Assembly.Coming down heavily on the opposition parties over "dynastic politics", the PM said they find democratic churn difficult.
"Most of the other parties today are parivarvadi parties and these find this democratic churn difficult." He said the BJP is a cadre-based party, driven by a clear mission and has the ability to nurture multiple generations of leadership at the same time.
Answering queries, the Prime Minister referred to COVID-19 and said that India has shown remarkable resilience despite two years of a once-in-a-century pandemic.
He said the creation of jobs has been the top priority of his government. "Average inflation during 2014-15 to 2023-24 (till November) was only 5.1 per cent, compared to 8.2 per cent during the previous 10 years (2004-05 to 2013-14). Creation of jobs has been the topmost priority of my government. All our efforts have been geared up to the task," he added.
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 "PM Modi takes dig at INDIA bloc ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls (ANI)")
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