Results indicate Ktk, Lok Sabha election verdict: Shah

Buoyed by BJP's maiden win in Tripura and impressive performance in Nagaland and Meghalaya, party chief Amit Shah today said it is an endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies and a reflection of the future results in Karnataka and the next Lok Sabha elections.
Shah used today's assemble elections verdict in the three northeastern states to present the BJP as being a truly pan-India party, noting that it is not restricted to the Hindi belt as claimed by its critics.
Targeting the Congress, he pointed out that the party did not win a single seat in Tripura and Nagaland, and also hit out at the communist parties, saying "what the results have clearly showed is that the Left is not right for any part of the country."

He cited the BJP's successive victories in states to claim that popular verdict is the "thermometer" to find out a government's acceptance, and the masses have supported the Modi government in different parts of the country.
Addressing a press conference, Shah underlined the significance of his party's win in the tiny state of Tripura, where it was for the first time pitted against the Left in a direct fight, and set his sights on Odisha, West Bengal and Kerala- three big states which have been out of its reach so far- and poll-bound Karnataka where the Congress is in power.

"This is a win of the prime minister's policies. People have put their stamp of approval on his politics of performance and development.... The results in the three states are a reflection of the future results of Karnataka polls and the next Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Asked if he feels that the party has now entered its golden era, he suggested that such an assertion can be considered only after it rules these states as well.
While the party has got a majority on its own in Tripura and won over two-thirds of seats with its ally, it is in a position to form government in Nagaland- where two biggest regional parties see it as an ally- and is hoping to cobble together an alliance in Meghalaya which has thrown up a hung assembly.

Shah dismissed Left's claim that the BJP had used money power in Tripura polls and said the opposition can no longer blame electronic voting machines due to use of voter-verified paper audit trail system.
He said the party will celebrate 'Vijay Utsav' (victory celebrations) across the country tomorrow.
Rejecting the charge of Congress, which was in power in Meghalaya, that the BJP will turn to horse-trading, Shah said the verdict there is against the Mukul Sangma government. He took a swipe at the Congress wondering why it had sent its two central leaders to the state.
He also said the party in Tripura will share power with its ally, which represents the state's tribal region, despite getting a majority on its own.

He called it a "historic" win and also paid tributes of to nine party workers, victims of alleged political killing.
To a question about Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's visit to Italy ahead of declaration of results, he replied tongue-in-cheek about polls being held in that country as well, a dig at his mother Sonia Gandhi's Italian origins.
"It is a day of joy for me and crores of BJP workers. The victory of the BJP is important in many ways," he said.
He praised key central and state party leaders involved in the campaign while making it clear that the verdict was an endorsement of Modi who, he said, had been making specials efforts to develop eastern, and especially northeastern region.

Shah noted that the BJP had got only 1.3 per cent votes in 2013 assembly polls in Tripura and lost its deposit in all but one seat. This time it received 43 per cent of votes while its ally got close to 8 per cent.
The party and it ally had won all 20 seats in the state reserved for tribals, he said, claiming that it showed people's appreciation for the central government's work for the poor, backwards, dalits and tribals.
After Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, this is the third state where the party has got close to 50 per cent votes, he said.

The BJP is expecting victory in Karnataka and will now fight polls there with increased confidence to get a big win, he said. The southern state is likely to go to elections in April-May.