23 May,2019 11:35 AM IST | | mid-day online desk
Sushma Swaraj
Senior BJP leader and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked the people on the BJP's "big victory" in the Lok Sabha polls.
Riding on a massive Modi wave sweeping through most parts of India, the BJP was set to return to power as it led in 295 seats while the Congress trailed far behind with 50, according to trends released Thursday by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- Many Congratulations for securing such a big victory for the BJP. I am thankful to the people," Swaraj tweeted.
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With its allies, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance could win 343 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. In the last election, the NDA had 336 seats while BJP accounted for 282.
The results are a resounding endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security and nationalism. He also relentlessly attacked the Congress Party for what he called its dynastic legacy and blamed it for the country's woes. The opposition had criticised the BJP campaign as divisive and polarising.
"The people on the ground are not buying the narrative of the opposition that people are under threat. People are doing well that they are looking forward to the next government of Narendra Modi. We have to realise that Modi's government inherited very weak economy and he has done a very phenomenal job (in the last five year)," BJP spokesman Amit Malviya said.
The Modi wave not only swept through the Hindi heartland and Gujarat, as was expected, but also rippled through West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana appeared untouched.
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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from Agencies
