New Delhi: Preparing to take office for a record third consecutive term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pledged to work with all states, regardless of the party in power, to build a developed India.
In his first speech after the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Modi laid out his vision for the third term saying it would be a tenure of big decisions and key emphasis would be on uprooting corruption.
“The fight against corruption is becoming tougher by the day. Corruption is being shamelessly glorified for political interest. In our third term, NDA will focus a lot on rooting out corruption of all kinds,” Modi said.
Modi’s speech did not refer to its reduced numbers in Parliament but focussed on the “clean sweep” victories in assembly elections as well as Lok Sabha wins in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Modi also said that the Congress has been wiped out in several states and pointed out that the combined number of seats won by the opposition alliance was less than that of the BJP alone.
Modi’s victory speech at the BJP headquarters, however, was thin on politics and heavy on the future roadmap of his government, which he noted was coming for the third consecutive time, a first in six decades.
“Our Constitution is our guiding light. I want to assure that the Centre will work with all states, irrespective of the party in power there, to work towards our resolve to make India a developed country,” Modi said.
The prime minister arrived at the BJP headquarters to a rousing welcome by hundreds of supporters who chanted ‘Modi, Modi’. He was greeted by BJP President J P Nadda and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah on the dais.
The backdrop on the stage had ‘Dhanyawad Bharat’ written in various languages, including Urdu.
Modi began his speech with ‘Jai Jagannath’ and thanked the people of Odisha for giving BJP a clear mandate for the first time.
He also thanked TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar — his NDA allies – for the electoral successes in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
