Tripura Conquered, Amit Shah Says BJP's Golden Period Will Begin Post Wins in Odisha, Bengal, Kerala

New Delhi: BJP President Amit Shah addressed a press conference on Saturday evening, thanking the people of Tripura and Nagaland for reposing faith in the BJP and its alliance partners.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Shah took a dig at the Left Front parties saying that “Left is not right” for the country. He added that the BJP had proven after Saturday’s results that it was a pan-India party.

“Left is not right for any part of India. First they were packed off from West Bengal and now from Tripura. This is a sign of the BJP’s growth,” Shah said. The BJP chief also said his party was now an established pan-India party. “It was once said that BJP was only a Hindi-belt party. But today that has been proven wrong. Our workers in Kerala and Bengal are also very upbeat after this verdict, because they have also braved Communist violence. It was said we are not a pan-India party. But today, we have an MP in Ladahk and Kerala. We have a government in Kohima and in Kutch,” he said.

Talking about the BJP’s tremendous turnaround in Tripura, Shah said, “In 2013, we got 1.3% of the vote and no seats. Today, we have almost crossed the 50% vote share mark and 42 seats. In Nagaland, too, it looks as if our alliance has received a mandate. These results are a forerunner to the upcoming elections in Karnataka.”

Shah refused to concede that this was BJP’s best performance and said the “golden period” for the party is still to come.

"Jab tak Odisha, West Bengal aur Kerala mein BJP nahi aa jaati tab tak party ka golden period shuru nahi hoga. Karnataka mein to hum jeetenge hi (Our golden period will begin once we are in power in Odisha, Bengal and Kerala. We will win in Karnataka)," said Amit Shah.

Shah said he dedicated this victory to all the BJP and RSS workers who died in clashes with CPI (M) cadre. He said, “Victory in the North East means a lot to us. Today, I remember all those workers who have died at the hands of Communist violence in the streets. Our workers have faced Communist violence with exemplary bravery. Many of them were even martyred. Against all odds, they worked hard at the booths and ensured a BJP victory.”

The BJP President said BJP’s performance in the state could be credited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on the North-East. “In 2014, our leader Narendra Modi had said the western part of the country saw a lot of development but the east has been left out of development. Immediately after becoming PM, he started his ‘Act East’ policy. Modi is the first PM to work for the North East after Morarji Desai.”