Stay united, take NDA performance to voters, Modi exhorts Maharashtra MPs
Almost all MPs from Maharashtra's ruling NDA coalition – BJP, Shinde Sena, and the NCP's Ajit Pawar faction – attended the meeting on Tuesday evening.
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of Members of Parliament from Maharashtra at Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi on Tuesday evening and called on them to take the nine-year performance of the central government to voters ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Modi also exhorted MPs belonging to the BJP’s alliance partners—the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar—to work unitedly to keep the NDA alliance intact even in the future.
Almost all the BJP’s Maharashtra MPs and those from the other two parties that are part of the NDA were present for the meeting that went on for more than two hours. A short presentation was made to the MPs, showcasing the performance and programmes implemented by the Modi government in nine years. Highlighting this “unprecedented” performance, the MPs were told to take it to the voters.
A Shiv Sena MP said that Modi, in his address, had attacked the Congress, saying that it had never worked in the interest of the people or the country. “He declared that the Congress worked to safeguard the interests of its own,” said the MP. “He said that it acted against the interest of the states and had pulled down governments. The NDA, on the other hand, he said, was a natural alliance, which had been working in the interest of the country and the common man.” The MP added that Modi declared that after the opposition parties realised that there were no takers for their former name, United Progressive Alliance, they changed it to INDIA.
According to a BJP MP, the prime minister also expressed confidence that the NDA would win a sizeable number of seats again as it had in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. “He also emphasised the need to stay united,” the MP said.
The meeting was attended by union home minister Amit Shah, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and minister of state for social justice Ramdas Athawale. Gadkari spoke about the performance of the Modi government and the projects implemented in Maharashtra and in the country. Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP also attended the meeting.
