In an exclusive interview with News18’s Amitabh Sinha and Brajesh Kumar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on several issues that are dominating the narrative this election season. From the BJP's fortunes to poll violence in West Bengal, PM Modi opened up about several issues.
Here are the top five quotes from his interview:
1. This is the first election where ‘Modi’ is also a poll issue. Maybe this has never happened before in this country that those who want to win talk of Modi and those who want to defeat us also have Modi on their mind.
2. I feel I belong to the caste of the poor. The situation of the poor, even after so many years of Independence, pains me immensely. It’s not that we could not have done anything for them; in 10 years of the Opposition's rule, they built 25 lakh houses, while in five years, we constructed 1.5 crore houses. If this work had been done earlier, Modi would not have to build toilets, construct houses or ensure road connectivity to villages.
3. People who believe in democracy and are neutral, their silence is most deafening because they are ready to forgive everything in their hatred for Modi. This is setting a dangerous trend for the country. You see, when one talks of terrorism, the example of Jammu and Kashmir is the first one thinks about. But even in J&K, during panchayat elections, there was not a single incident of violence at any of the poll booths. But during polls in Bengal, several people were killed, the houses of those who won were burnt down and they had to flee to states such as Jharkhand — all because they won.
4. I believe that people interested in image building are busy trying to tarnish my image for the past 20 years, which has actually backfired. I pity them. I don’t believe there is polarisation but if there is a divide, is it horizontal or vertical? If it does exist, the poor today are polarised and identify with Modi.
5. The BJP will come back to power with a bigger vote share and better margin. In a way, it will be a glorious entry for us; not because of our strategy but because the people are fighting the elections this time. You would be surprised to know that all the slogans used during the elections have come from the public. Our PR agency or party did not come up with any slogans. “Aayega toh Modi hi” was a slogan I heard from the people.
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