In his thanksgiving speech, Narendra Modi promised to transform the country and said would take 10 years. “India may have got its freedom years back, but we are still lagging in many respects. To take India into the 21st century, 10 years is all that is needed, no more,” he aid in Ahmedabad.

In Vadodara, he called himself “Mazdoor No. 1” and promised to take everybody together. “I promise the entire country that even though we were not fortunate enough to die or go to jail during the freedom struggle, we are fortunate to live for the country… It is not the government of some special people but of 1.25 crore people….Kisi sarkar ke liye koi apna or paraya nahin hota (for a government nobody is its own or an outsider).”

He declared he would be the “first person born after Independence” to lead the country. “Until now, the country’s leadership was with those not born in free India… This is the first election when the leadership is in the hands of someone born after Independence.” Modi was born September 17, 1950.

He thanked Vadodara for an unprecedented victory, his margin of 5.7 lakh votes having broken Ram Vilas Paswan’s 1989 record in Hajipur. “I could only give you 50 minutes after filing my nomination form. And you have given me 5.70 lakh votes. I thanks Barodians… In Varanasi, as a candidate, I could not give much time but what Modi’s silence did in Varanasi, and this, are two very important events in the history of Indian politics.”

Emphasising his connect with the youth, he said, “You may have seen small videos of children on YouTube who say ‘Ab ki baar…’. Imagine…when they turn 18… it is as if an army is getting ready.”

He began his Ahmedabad speech with “Kem chho”, then taking “permission” from the crowd to speak in Hindi. He interspersed his speech with Gujarati remarks from time to time.

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