PM Modi at his first press conference diverts questions to Shah, asserts BJP will be back in power

Addressing his first press conference after coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on the last day of campaigning Friday that the BJP will come back to power with a full majority, but refused to take any questions, citing party discipline.

In a surprised move, Modi showed up on the dais at the BJP headquarters here for a scheduled press conference by party president Amit Shah, who gave a detailed report card on the performance of the NDA government as well as BJP's extensive electioneering.

After his opening remarks, Modi diverted questions by journalists, saying he will not answer because the press conference is being addressed by Shah, and in BJP's system, discipline has to be followed.

"We are disciplined soldiers of the party. The party president is everything for us," Modi said.

In his remarks, Modi said,"the election has been amazing (shandar). Elections were held in a positive spirit. A government with full majority will come back after remaining in power for five years . This is probably happening after a very long time. This is a big deal in itself."
The prime minister said, during the campaigning, he told people that "I have come to thank you for your blessings....The country has always been with us. So in a way the campaigning was a way of saying thank you to the people. Even today, I am here to thank you and thank them through you."