Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday asked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates contesting next month’s Karnataka assembly election to strengthen booth-level activity, involve as many women party workers as men, focus on development and not get distracted by opposition propaganda.
Addressing party workers through the Narendra Modi app, the PM said that earlier governments were scared of discussing development as it can be measured.
“They were busy dividing people on the basis of caste, religion, creed,” Modi said, in an apparent reference to the state’s ruling Congress party.
Karnataka goes to polls on 12 May.
The Congress and BJP have locked horns over communal discord, corruption, job creation and vote bank politics, among others.
Modi said Congress would use people for polls and then ignore them. “Can anyone deny that Congress’ culture in mainstream spoiled the country,” Modi said, adding that until the Congress culture is uprooted, mainstream politics in India can’t be cleaned.
Modi compared the performance of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Karnataka. Under UPA, only Rs8,700 crore was spent and 950km of highways built in the state, while the BJP government spent Rs27,000 crore and built 1750km of highways, he said.
He added the UPA had spent Rs380 crore on urban infrastructure in four years in Karnataka while the BJP had spent Rs1,600 crore in the same period. He said that BJP has created 7800 MW of renewable energy while the UPA accounted for only 2000 MW. In solar, Modi said UPA created 31 MW of solar power while the BJP accounted for 4800 MW.
Modi said that when people realised that Congress would lose, the party started talking of a hung assembly.
Meanwhile, the Janata Dal (Secular) has quietly been making inroads into new regions and is expected to play a major role if the state throws up a fractured verdict.
“It is important for Karnataka to get a full majority,” Modi said, adding that this would help in avoiding policy paralysis. His comments come at a time when the NDA is being targeted over its economic policies like demonetisation, increasing fuel prices and the implementation of goods and services tax (GST).
Taking three questions from BJP legislators during the address, Modi said he should also be considered a worker and all of them should move towards fulfulling the party’s goals move forward.
“I am also Kannadiga and you work with that thought,” he said while indirectly addressing recent barbs by Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, who had called all national party leaders of the BJP as “imports” who had to come to the state and campaign on behalf of the state leadership.
Stressing on booth level strengthening, BJP’s biggest advantage, he said that mworkers should be made responsible for a few families to give the latter sufficient time and attention. “We don’t have to win the assembly election or MLAs, we have to win the booth. Those who win the booth will win the battle,” he said.