PM Modi in victory speech: 'Every moment of my life, every fibre of my being devoted to nation'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday promised to devote "every moment" of his time and "every fibre" of his being for the people of India and said the country will now have only two castes -- the poor and those who want to alleviate poverty.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday promised to devote "every moment" of his time and "every fibre" of his being for the people of India and said the country will now have only two castes -- the poor and those who want to alleviate poverty. In a rousing speech at the party headquarters here to celebrate the BJP's spectacular victory, Modi told cheering supporters that the election has thrown up a mandate to build a new India. "People are chanting Modi, Modi. But this is not a victory of Modi, it is the victory of people who are desperate for honesty in the system," Modi said. This is the victory of toiling farmers who struggle to feed the nation, this is the victory of those who now live in proper houses, this is the victory of the middle class which follows the rules, pays taxes, but wondered if his taxes were being used for the benefit of the country, he said. Addressing the victory celebration, he said that the mandate won by the BJP-led coalition was the biggest development in the democratic world and reflected an abiding strength in democracy. "With bigger mandate, comes greater responsibility...I will not do anything with bad intention and and will do nothing for myself. "Who said what during the election campaign, for me it is past. We have to look to the future. We have to take everyone along in national interest. And despite such a majority, we will move with humility," Modi said. "In 2014, not many knew me. But you gave me a mandate. But in 2019, you gave me more strength after knowing me. I can understand the sentiment behind this. Increase in trust leads to increase in responsibilty," he added. In a virtual address to the nation, the Prime Minister promised that in the coming days, he would do nothing with bad intentions. "While working, there can be mistakes but I will not anything with bad intention. I will not do anything for myself. Third thing, every second of my time, every part of body is only for the nation. You keep judging me on these three parameters and criticise me if I do not measure up. But I want to assure you that whatever I say publicly, I will work to implement it," he said. Promising to take everyone along including the states, Modi said a government is formed by majority which has been done. "But the nation moves with consensus and democractic spirit." Modi said he will take his critics along with humility. "The people have filled the bag of this ascetic. I bow my head to 130 crore people of the country," he said. In a stunning electoral showing, Narendra Modi led the BJP to a historic victory in the Lok Sabha polls, with the ruling party itself set to win 303 seats in a marked improvement over its 2014 showing that left the opposition dazed and demoralized. The NDA could end up with 350 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats. In contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept state after state, including those ruled by the Congress. Its most spectacular results came in Uttar Pradesh where it was set to win 60 of the 80 seats, puncturing the SP-BSP alliance, while making major inroads in West Bengal by taking the victory lap in an unprecedented 18 of the 42 seats. The saffron party was set to bag all 26 seats in Modi's home state Gujarat, all 10 in Haryana, all seven in Delhi, all five in Uttarakhand, all four in Himachal Pradesh, both seats in Tripura as well as Arunachal Pradesh and the single seats of Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Manipur besides a whopping 28 out of 29 in Madhya Pradesh, 24 out of 25 in Rajasthan, 41 out of 48 in Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena, 25 out 28 in Karnataka, 11 out of 14 in Jharkhand, 9 out of 14 in Assam and 39 out of 40 in Bihar in alliance with the JD-U and LJP. The Modi sweep crushed Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh although he was elected to the Lok Sabha by over 4 lakh votes from Wayanad in Kerala. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who had planned a meeting of opposition parties here on Thursday in the hope of dislodging Modi, was the sole Congress winner for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh (Rae Bareli). The SP-BSP alliance, which was confident of tripping the BJP's road to victory, suffered a blow in the country's politically most critical state. The BSP was poised to win just 10 seats and the Samajwadi Party 6 as their caste formula got drowned by Modi's election campaigning based mainly on aggressive nationalism. The BJP's years of efforts in West Bengal finally bore fruits as its candidates were set to emerge victorious in 18 places, washing out the once formidable Left and leaving the Congress punctured. The BJP won only two seats in 2014.