VIJAYAWADA, May 5: Bharatiya Janata Party Andhra Pradesh State president P.V.N. Madhav on Tuesday described the party's victories in three of the five States that went to the polls as historic, and said the results reflected the growing trust of the electorate in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. He was addressing a press conference at the party's State office in Vijayawada.
Mr. Madhav said Mr. Modi had effectively articulated people's issues during the election campaign, and that voters in West Bengal had rewarded the BJP with a decisive mandate. The party's return to power in Assam and its success in Puducherry, he added, further underscored the expanding reach of the NDA.
Bengal win rooted in history and public discontent
Contextualising the West Bengal result within a broader historical frame, Mr. Madhav said the victory was made possible by the sacrifices of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, and that winning in the land of luminaries such as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Swami Vivekananda, and Subhas Chandra Bose lent the achievement special significance.
He was sharply critical of the preceding years of Communist and Trinamool Congress rule in the State, alleging that both had presided over a rise in lawlessness. He further alleged that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh had been encouraged and cultivated as a vote bank by the ruling dispensation. It was public awareness of and anger against these trends, he argued, that had driven high voter turnout and ultimately brought the BJP to power.
Assam hat-trick and Kerala foothold
On Assam, Mr. Madhav said the BJP had achieved a hat-trick by strengthening the spirit of nationalism in the State. He also highlighted the party's performance in Kerala, where it won three seats and entered the State Assembly for the first time, describing it as a significant indicator of the party's geographic expansion.
Commenting on Tamil Nadu, he said the victory of actor-politician Vijay's party over the DMK was a signal of change in the State.
Senior party functionaries including Kapu Ramachandra Reddy, Saligrama Lakshmi Prasanna, Sheikh Baji, Rongala Gopi Srinivas, Uppalapati Srinivas Raju, Adduri Sriram, Syed Basha, Surendra Reddy, and Reddy Pavani were present at the press conference.
