Chief Minister Narendra Modi with Gordhan Zadaphia in Gandhinagar on Tuesday. (Express photo) Chief Minister Narendra Modi with Gordhan Zadaphia in Gandhinagar on Tuesday. (Express photo)

Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the upcoming general elections will be a “magnificent event” which would not be fought on the basis of number of seats alone but the connect between party leaders and the electorate. “The next election would be a magnificent event.

The country is sinking and we have to save it. This election would be the rarest of the rare election. So many political pundits are analysing the outcome of the polls. But I can definitely say the next elections will not be based on mathematics (number game alone), but on chemistry (between parties, leaders and voters),” Modi said while addressing BJP workers at Gandhinagar Town Hall.

He said there are no full stops in politics and no politician can ever be written off. He was speaking at a function where Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP), floated by BJP rebels a couple of months ahead of the December 2012 Assembly polls, merged with the saffron outfit.

Welcoming former Minister Gordhan Zadaphia, one of the founder members of GPP and its President, and his supporters into the BJP fold, the saffron stalwart said “Politics has a rule. There are no full-stops in politics.”

“What next? – don’t keep this question in your mind. We have instances in history where people who had packed their bags suddenly saw their fortunes reviving suddenly.

Our former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao called it a day but suddenly his life changed and he became Prime minister.” Modi asked GPP workers to remain in touch with common people. “The more you are connected with people, the more you will succeed in public life. We have to make constant efforts to understand the pain and grievances of general public.”

“I have learnt from my own experience that in politics, there is no bigger power than patience. If we work with patience, no power on earth can defeat us.”

On Monday, Zadaphia drove to the BJP headquarters along with his supporters and announced his party’s merger with the BJP. GPP MLA has also joined BJP along with Zadaphia. On February 13, former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, who was the driving force behind GPP, announced he was quitting active politics. Patel, once a stalwart in Gujarat BJP, later fell out with Modi and became his critic.

‘China’s export of herbal products a challenge for India’

Gandhinagar: Days after attacking China for its “expansionist mindset”, CM Narendra Modi lauded the country for its “high export of herbal medicines”. Speaking at the National Ayurvedic Summit in Gandhinagar on Tuesday, he stressed the need to globalise Ayurveda, the Indian system of traditional medicine. “China’s large exports mean that there is a global market of our such products. To make our place is the biggest challenge,” Modi said. “Has India ever thought how many countries believe in traditional medicine system? Nepal, Thailand, Sumatra, Java and many such countries use herbal products,” Modi said. PTI

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