‘Non-NDA parties may have to form alliance for Oppn status’

Addressing a large gathering on the banks of Ganga during his first visit to this ancient temple town after winning the Varanasi seat by a huge margin of 3.7 lakh votes, he said, ‘So far, the country has always been ruled either by the Congress or, except for the period under (Atal) Vajpayee’s rule, by loose coalitions headed by people formerly associated with the Congress.’ 

‘This election marks a new beginning even on that count,’ Modi said in his nearly 30-minute-speech at the Dashashwamedh Ghat.

‘The people of the country have given a tight slap to all those parties which are not with the NDA. Now all these parties may end up forming an alliance just to attain the status of a formally recognisable opposition,’ he said.

The main Opposition party must hold at least 1/10th of the total Lok Sabha seats. Congress suffered its worst electoral defeat bagging just 44 seats.

‘This is a turning point in the country’s history as for the first time the leadership is going to fall in the hands of a generation which was born in the post-Independence era,’ Modi said. 

Modi also expressed his gratitude to the people of Varanasi for his huge victory from here while venting resentment over the fact that a disagreement with the local administration had prevented him from addressing the people of the temple town before it went to polls.

‘It is wonderful that the people of Kashi helped me get such a huge win even though I did not get the chance to appeal to the voters to vote for me. I came here to file my nomination, barely managed to visit my election office and, thereafter, all that remained was a silent bond between myself and the people of Kashi.

‘Through their votes, the people of Kashi put their stamp of approval on this silent bond,’ said Modi, who was accompanied by party President Rajnath Singh and senior leader and his close aide Amit Shah, among others.