Generate 'tsunami' in MP to win non-BJP states, says Shah

BJP president Amit Shah Monday gave a call to "uproot" the Congress from Madhya Pradesh in next month's state Assembly polls to generate a "tsunami", the ripple effects of which will be felt in West Bengal and other states currently not ruled by the saffron party.

Addressing party workers here in the state, which goes to the polls on November 28, Shah said winning over 200 of the 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh was not enough.

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had a strong hold over Madhya Pradesh, where it was in power since 2003, and if the Congress was hoping to rule the state, then the opposition party was just engaging in "daydreaming".

"Our target is not to cross just 200 seats, but to uproot the Congress from the state to generate a tsunami that will have its effects in states like West Bengal," Shah said, addressing the BJP's "Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot" convention.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the "Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot" (my polling booth the strongest) call to prepare the party cadre for the Assembly polls in five states to be held in November-December.

Referring to Congress president Rahul Gandhi's assertion earlier Monday that his party was coming to power in Madhya Pradesh, Shah said he should not indulge in "daydreaming".

"After 2014, when Modi became the prime minister of the country, the BJP has emerged victorious in 14 state elections, including in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Goa and Himachal Pradesh.

"Even after losing 14 elections, he (Gandhi) is dreaming of forming government in Madhya Pradesh," he said, adding, "The BJP's grip in Madhya Pradesh is like the feet of Angad (a mythological character in the Ramayana)."