Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the lotus is now “blooming from Gangotri to Gangasagar” following the BJP’s victory in West Bengal, and called on all parties to work for “change, not revenge,” ensuring the state’s future prevails over fear.
Addressing BJP workers at the party headquarters after the assembly election wins in West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry, Modi said the day was special in many ways and heralded a bright future for the country. He said it reflected “trust in the great democracy of India, trust in the politics of performance, trust in the resolve of stability, and trust in the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat.”
“I bow before the people of West Bengal, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Keralam,” he said at the victory event attended by BJP president Nitin Nabin, Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, among others.
Recalling that on November 14 last year, after the Bihar election results, he had said the Ganga flows onward from Bihar to Ganga Sagar, Modi added, “And today, with victory in West Bengal, from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar, it is nothing but the lotus in full bloom.” He noted that BJP-NDA governments are now in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, states surrounding the Ganga.
He said democracy, not fear, had won in this “festival of democracy” in West Bengal, and stressed that after the BJP’s victory, there should be talk of “badlav” (change), not “badla” (revenge), and of “bhavishya” (future), not “bhay” (fear).
Modi said winning and losing are a natural part of democracy and politics, but the people of the five states have shown why India is the mother of democracy. “Democracy is not just a system for us; it is the river of traditions in our veins,” he said, adding that India’s democracy, Constitution, constitutional institutions and democratic processes have all triumphed.
He highlighted the nearly 93 per cent voter turnout in West Bengal as historic, and said new voting records were also set in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala. He added that women’s participation was exceptionally high, calling it one of the brightest aspects of Indian democracy.
Describing the day as “historic” and “unprecedented,” Modi said the joy seen on the faces of BJP workers across the country reflected years of effort. He also congratulated the Election Commission, its employees, and all personnel involved in the voting process, especially security forces, saying their contribution to maintaining the dignity of India’s democracy will always be remembered.
