Addressing a public rally in the Amreli district of poll-bound Gujarat on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he feels like home whenever he visits the district.
"Whenever I come to Amreli, I feel like home. The sheer turnout of people here shows which way the election is going this time. The levers of election are not with politicians or candidates, but in the hands of the people who have turned out in such huge numbers today," the PM said.
Hitting out at the Congress, PM Modi said it was incapable of working for people's welfare.
"Congress cannot do any good for you all. In the last Assembly elections, you had voted for the Congress and had sent their candidate to the Vidhan Sabha. Tell me what have they done? Can you remember anything?" the PM asked, addressing the crowd.
Voicing hope that the BJP will return to power in the state, the PM said, "This time, Kamal Khilvu Joiye (the lotus should bloom)."
He added that the Amreli district will emerge as a bustling centre for maritime trade, adding a new chapter to its history.
"The mushrooming of industries here in the last 20 years and the innnovative agricultural practices introduced by the Krishi Bibhag (agriculture department) helped Amreli make a telling impact on the state. The agricultural development in Gujarat was in the negative before we came to power in the state. It is the result of our hard work that today, the Gujarat's agricultural development has reached double digits," the PM said.
Claiming that Amreli was once in the throes of a water crisis, the PM said every village in the district now received piped water supply.
"The farmers here have now been lierated from issues arising out of water and electricity. There was a time when transformers would blwo out and running repairs on them would take 2-3 months. Now, transformers are repaired on making a phone call," the PM said.
Polling for 182 Assembly constituencies in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes for the state, along with those of Himachal Pradesh, will take place on December 8.
The BJP has fielded several new faces in the Assembly polls this year while suspending seven party leaders, all outgoing MLAs, who had filed nominations as independent candidates after being denied tickets.
All seven suspended leaders had beebn seeking tickets for the first phase of polling in the state.
"The MLAs have been suspended for six years for anti-party activities," a BJP release quoting the party's state president CR Paatil stated.
The suspended BJP leaders are Harshad Vasava from Nandod in the Narmada district; Arvind Ladani, who had been seeking a ticket from Keshod Junagadh seat in Junagadh; Chattrasingh Gunjaria from Dhangadra in Surendranagar; Ketan Bhai Patel from Paradi in Valsad; Bharat Bhai Chavda from Rajkot rural; Uday Bhai Shah from Veraval in Gir Somnath district and Karan Bhai Baraiya, who was seeking an Assembly poll ticket from Rajula Assembly segment in Amreli.
( With inputs from ANI )
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