A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party was wrested out of power in the Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, its star campaigner for the assembly polls, Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday downplayed Congress’ victory by saying that it had “achieved electoral success through deceit”.
He also rejected claims that the Hindutva card he played to gain support had backfired and antagonised the voters. He also denied making a comment on Lord Hanuman’s caste in Rajasthan ahead of the polls.
Speaking to reporters after paying obeisance at Mahavir Mandir near Patna railway station, Adityanath claimed that the Congress was going to form governments in the three states by speaking lies, adding that its face would soon be exposed.
He said that victories and defeats were part of a democratic process and one should accept both outcomes.
“We never bask in our victories while blaming our defeats on electronic voting machines (EVMs),” he said. “When they win, they immediately start worshipping the EVMs,” the UP CM said while targetting the Congress.
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister had campaigned excessively in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana for the recent state assembly elections. The star campaigner held a record of 74 rallies in the four states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana, more than PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
However, the defeat has come as a major jolt for the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accepted the defeat in the assembly polls saying that “victory and defeat were an integral part of life”, adding that the “BJP has accepted the people’s mandate with humility”.
The Congress has stormed to power in all three Hindi heartland states, while K Chandrasehkhar Rao wave swept Telangana. However, the Congress lost Mizoram, its last stronghold in the Northeast region.