‘Lost by historic low margin in Himachal; Gujarat made record to break record’: PM in victory speech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 8 reached the BJP’s Delhi headquarters and congratulated party workers for the historic win in the Gujarat Assembly elections.

PM Modi began his speech by thanking the Election Commission for holding peaceful elections.

“I want to thank Election Commission for conducting elections peacefully. As far as I know, re-polling in any poll booth was not required,” PM Modi said.

While addressing the party workers, the Prime Minister also thanked the people of Delhi, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh for participating in the elections and celebrating the biggest festival of democracy. Talking about the elections in different states, he said that the BJP has been receiving support from across the country.

“I thank the people of Delhi, Gujarat, and Himachal. The BJP has been receiving love from across the country. Not just in Gujarat, but we had a big win in the UP by-election too - in Rampur,” he said.

Speaking about losing the Himachal Pradesh elections, the Prime Minister said that the margin between the BJP and Congress was less than 1 percent.

“In Himachal, 'raj' may have changed, but 'riwaz' (tradition) has also changed as there was a gap of less than 1 per cent in vote share of the top two parties. This has never been the case in Himachal. This is the first time that such a thin margin was recorded in the state,” he added.

PM Modi emphasized that the people of Himachal Pradesh did everything possible to bring the BJP to power. He assured them that the state's development projects would go forward at the same pace irrespective of the party lost the elections in the hill state.

“Never has the margin of win been so low in Himachal. I assure the people that even though the party is behind by 1%, our support will be 100%, we will raise every issue of Himachal with our full strength” he said.

Speaking about a thumping victory in the Gujarat elections, the PM thanked the state voters for setting a new record by giving BJP its biggest mandate.

“The people of Gujarat have even created a record in breaking records. By giving the biggest mandate in the history of Gujarat to the BJP, the people of the state have created a new history. The state voted for BJP rising above caste, class, community and all kinds of divisions,” PM Modi said.

“People voted for BJP as it is taking all facilities to the poor and middle class at the earliest. Gujarat's love for BJP despite it being in power for 25 years is unprecedented, they have broken all records, written history,” he added.

He asserted that when there is a challenge, people show their faith in BJP.

“The results of Gujarat have proved how strong is the desire of the common man for a developed India. The message is clear that whenever there is a challenge before the country, people show their faith in BJP,” the PM added.

The Prime Minister also hit out at rival parties during his victory speech.

"The increase support base for BJP shows public anger against dynastic politics is constantly growing, BJP’s poll performance is a clear sign for coming days,” he said.

The BJP registered a historic win in the Gujarat Assembly elections, even smashing its own record of the 2002 elections, where it won 127 seats under the leadership of the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

In the Gujarat Assembly elections, the BJP won 154 out of the 182 seats, while the party lost Himachal Pradesh by less than 1% of the vote. In Himachal, the BJP won 25 seats out of 68 Assembly seats. The Congress registered its victory in the hill state by bagging 40 seats.