Amit Shah

MADURAI: Work as though the BJP is contesting all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and ensure that the NDA wins the elections and reinstates Narendra Modi as Prime Minister, BJP president Amit Shah told party cadre on Friday.

He was addressing the party’s booth agents in the southern districts at Ramanathapuram after speaking to the constituency representatives here.

Shah started his address with the Pulwama attack saying that the blood spilt by the 40 martyrs would not go waste and that India would give the terrorists a fitting reply.

He said that the cadres were the strength of the party and he did not have any doubt that they would give their best to earn the BJP at least 35 seats in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections . ``I am sure the NDA will get 35 MPs from Tamil Nadu,’’ he said.

Though the BJP was contesting only five seats in Tamil Nadu, the cadre should work as though they were contesting all 40 and give their allies, the AIADMK, PMK and others their full support in their respective constituencies, he said.

“If Modi becomes Prime Minister again, it is not just the BJP which will benefit, but the nation which will develop further,” he said. Shah said he had come to speak about the numerous schemes and programmes that Prime Minister Modi had implemented for the benefit of the people of Tamil Nadu.

“What did Stalin do for the people of Tamil Nadu when DMK was in the ruling alliance with the Congress for ten years,” he asked.

“During the Congress rule the funds received through the 13th financial commission for Tamil Nadu was Rs 94,540 crore whereas we have given five times that amount,” he said.

As much as Rs 23,116 crore was allocated for laying highways in the state and an allocation of Rs 1,700 crore was made for smart city works, he said. A separate department would be established for the welfare of fishermen, and above all, Tamil Nadu’s Nirmala Sitharaman held the defence portfolio.

He said that Modi would be re-elected as he was a leader who was liked by all world leaders. Shah’s meeting with Lok Sabha representatives of the southern districts was a closed one. He was given a grand welcome by the cadre at the airport. Shah posed for selfie with eager cadres in between the meetings.

The BJP president had a brief interaction with deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam at the lounge of the Madurai airport before he left for Rameswaram. The arrival of ministers S P Velumani and P Thangamani at the airport to see Amit Shah when he returned from Ramanathapuram raised eyebrows. Panneerselvam said that it was a cordial meeting and that talks were on with the DMDK and that they were also expected to join the alliance soon.

