Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dubbed the Bharatiya Janata Party's win over the Left in Tripura as an 'ideological victory' that changed the mood in the party, and asked its leaders to make the most of it in the coming months.
Modi's remarks came at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting and were an apparent reference to a number of state elections, including the upcoming Karnataka polls, followed by the Lok Sabha elections next year.
The prime minister was greeted with the slogan, 'Jeet hamari jari hai, ab Karnataka ki bari hai' (Our winning run continues, now it's Karnataka's turn), leaders present in the meeting said.
Modi said that some critics described Tripura as 'a small state with only two Lok Sabha seats' to downplay the BJP's win.
"..But each state and election is important," Modi said, while terming the BJP's performance in Tripura as 'historic'.
"Tripura was considered a bastion of Marxism for the last 25 years. This is an ideological victory. It has changed the mood in the party and the nation," Modi said.
To underline the significance of the win in Tripura, Modi said the party's win in one assembly seat in Kerala polls had energised the cadres.
'There is hope and expectation in the country and the party needs to work hard to maintain its winning streak,' Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar quoted Modi as saying.
Karnataka assembly poll is the next state election and has assumed particular significance as it is the only big state left under the Congress rule and BJP president Amit Shah has been making all-out efforts to oust the Siddaramaiah government.
Targeting the Left, Modi said its politics was underpinned by violence and hate and that people have rejected it everywhere.
"It is finished across the world and is on the verge of oblivion in India as it is now in power only in Kerala," Modi said.
The prime minister said that all the three states -- Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland -- are important and that the central government will give priority to their development.
In a lighter vein, Modi said that whenever the BJP wins an election, small issues are 'magnified' to divert attention from its victory.
"..but this time the focus has been at its performance in the three states," he said.
All BJP MPs were distributed 'angavastram' brought by the party from these states and offered 'prasad' from Assam's famous 'Kamakhya' temple, which is believed by the faithful to be protector of the North-East region.
A presentation on Union Budget was also made in the meeting during which several infographics were presented to highlight the state of economy in 2014 and its progress since then under the Modi government.
Modi asked party MPs to take to the masses the budget highlights, which are aimed at making of a 'New India'.
An alliance of several parties, including the BJP, was sworn-in in Meghalaya on Tuesday.
Modi extended his greetings to new Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.
The party is set to be part of a new government in Nagaland as a junior partner. It has won a majority on its own in Tripura.
Modi also paid tribute to the nine BJP workers who were killed in alleged political violence -- blamed on the Left by the party -- in Tripura during the run-up to the state polls.
IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being felicitated by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar as BJP senior leader L K Advani, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other leaders clap, during the BJP Parliamentary Party Meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo
