mumbai

Updated: Feb 04, 2019 08:39 IST

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not re-elected it would not be his, but the “country’s loss”.

Fadnavis, while addressing members and office-bearers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in Mumbai to conclude their three-month long sports and cultural event promoted by BJYM, said if India doesn’t have the leadership of PM Modi for the next five years too, the country’s growth pace would slow down. “I have come to tell you that the 2019 election is not for PM Modi or to get power for someone, but it will be a defining election for the future. India is at a transition stage, and if it continues to grow at the current rate, then by 2035, it will be the world’s best country. If we do not get the leadership of Modiji, it won’t be his loss. It will be a loss for the country. It will again see anarchy,” the CM said.

The chief minister said the country has accepted the leadership of Modi and so in every election the Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged “number one “.

The chief minister also ridiculed the grand alliance or Mahagathbandhan of Opposition parties. “Thieves are now getting together to remove Modiji. Mahagathbandhan is happening. Friends, let me tell you, no matter how many animals in the jungle get together, they can’t defeat the lion,” he said, adding the alliance only has regional leaders, with no major following.

Meanwhile, BJYM national president and BJP MP Poonam Mahajan likened Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar to Shakuni mama, the mythological character from Indian epic Mahabharat.

Fadnavis, however, did not speak about the Shiv Sena or the possibility of an alliance with its bickering ally. Mahajan said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is a team. “People ask me about an alliance [with the Shiv Sena]. I will say what my father Pramodji [Mahajan] used to say. In state-level matches, Tendulkar and Ganguly will play against each other, but for the country they play in one team,” she said.

During his 40-minute speech, Fadnavis listed the schemes of the Centre to uplift the poor. Attacking the Congress, he said, “Gareebi hatao (poverty alleviation) has been going on for many decades, but ‘gareebi’ of the Congress leaders was alleviated.”

He said the BJP government, through various schemes, gave ₹50,000 crore to the farmers. “I ask the previous government what did you do for them? If you had given half the amount, the farmers would have been happy. You just used farmers for your political gain,” he said.