Four states are now 'BJP-mukt', says Shiv Sena in Saamana

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah have been relegated to the sidelines, Congress President Rahul Gandhi is the shining star of merit, said clobbering edits by the Sena mouthpieces "Saamana" and "Dopahar Ka Saamana".

Ironically, five years ago after Modi's name was first proposed as Prime Minister, these same states had gone to elections where he had successfully campaigned, and the victories were dubbed as "his auspicious entry" for the BJP. (Image: PTI/File)

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party's dreams of making India "Congress-mukt" (free of Congress) have bit the dust in three crucial states where it was in power, and has been decimated in the other two states, the Shiv Sena said on Wednesday. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah have been relegated to the sidelines, Congress President Rahul Gandhi is the shining star of merit, said clobbering edits by the Sena mouthpieces "Saamana" and "Dopahar Ka Saamana". Ironically, five years ago after Modi's name was first proposed as Prime Minister, these same states had gone to elections where he had successfully campaigned, and the victories were dubbed as "his auspicious entry" for the BJP. "Now, as the PM, these states have given a solid drubbing to the BJP. While its invincible bastions like Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have fallen, in Telangana, BJP' tally is lower than Congress' and in Mizoram, it was decimated," the Sena said. "The Congress has snatched Chhattisgarh from BJP, though its Chief Minister Raman Singh was powerful there, but the the Chanakya brains of BJP attempted to divide-and-rule by propping up Ajit Jogi in the elections. "Similarly, though 'Mamaji' Shivraj Singh Chauhan was even more popular than Modi in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress caught the lion by the nape, and stopped the BJP's chariot from rolling further. "In Rajasthan the Congress could have easily crossed 140 seats, but due to infighting it was arrested at 100, though nobody can stop it from forming the government there," the Sena pointed out. In Telangana, Chandrasekhar Rao has been returned and in Mizoram, a regional outfit MNF has romped home. "All these (five) state have given the clear message of a 'BJP-mukt' India. The BJP felt it was destined to win all elections and no other party could survive. But this bubble has been burst... You cannot always win by fooling people," it added. It accused the BJP of first defeating friends, and now losing crucial Hindi-belt states... "While the economy floundered, farmers suffered, unemployment soared, inflation skyrocketed, and all the time, Modi was busy indulging in high-flying global affairs". Instead, he sought to raise emotional issues which were rejected by the voters in these latest elections. "Rahul Gandhi prevents me from uttering 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and creates 'obstacles in building Ram temple'... Modi made such childish statements, which recoiled on him... He never asked the Gandhi family before carrying out surgical strikes and demonetisation, and Modi has failed to fulfil the temple promise," the edit said. The Sena said Urjit Patel, who supported the November 2016 note-ban, also quit as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor in frustration... "India is being run by the brains of a handful of industrialists and institutions like RBI are crumbling. Nowhere in the world such an economic chaos been witnessed." However, the people of these five states, fearlessly voted the BJP out without going into questions of 'There is no alternative' factor, money and muscle power, the Electronic Voting Machines scam, and dashed the high-flyers into the dirt, the Sena said.