"Ruled us for 67 years through...": BJP's Junagadh candidate shreds Cong, says confident of retaining seat

Junagadh (Gujarat) [India], May 3 (ANI): Sitting Junagadh MP and BJP leader Rajesh Chudasama, who is bidding for a fresh term in the Lok Sabha from the constituency this year, said he was confident of retaining the seat by a huge margin, on Friday.
Speaking to ANI on Friday, the BJP MP said, "We have been among the people and my party workers over the last 39 days, immersing ourselves in the campaign and seeking people's blessings. From the sheer enthusiasm of the people and the response to our campaign, I can say with absolute confidence that we will retain this seat by a huge margin."
He added that whenever Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigns in BJP-ruled Gujarat, he invokes the significance of Junagadh in the country's history.
"When India achieved independence, some of the Nawabs and Nizams (of erstwhile princely states) wanted to shift to Pakistan. However, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel united 562 princely states, bringing them under the Union of India. It was through the efforts of Patel that Junagadh committed to be part of the union of states," he added.
Saying that he was hopeful of drawing support and electoral favour from several sections of society, the BJP candidate added, "Junagadh and Gir Somnath are renowned for their temples, forests and beaches. With so many attractions, tourism can flourish here. Ports can also come up here to push trade and commerce as well. Work on developing six ports here is already underway. We have also opened a coconut board office here. Farmers will benefit from it."
He asserted that the BJP does not have a rival in Junagadh and all that it was worried about was the margin of victory and not whether it would win.
"PM Modi has fulfilled what he had promised the people here. We have also fulfilled all our promises and are confident that the people are with us. There is simply no competition from the Congress here. They ruled us for 67 years through the instrument of appeasement. The BJP started with two members and today, we are the biggest party in the world. We stand for a certain ideology and the people are with us," he added.
Earlier, on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a public meeting in Junagadh, saying if Congress comes to power at the Centre, celebrations would break out in Pakistan.
"There was a time when our people fell to bullets fired from across the border and our jawans had to await permission from Delhi before launching retaliatory fire. The precious lives of the jawans were lost in combat or terror but Delhi seldom allowed them to strike back. The decisions the Congress took back in the day were based on the feelers they received from certain opportunist leaders in Pakistan. The ecosystem is now living on the hope of another opportunity to decide the direction of governance in the country through their proxies in power. But will the people ever allow such a day to come again?" PM Modi asked.
Voting for 25 out of 26 seats in Gujarat will take place in the third phase of the ongoing general elections on May 7. (ANI)