7th Win for the BJP owing to Modi’s 20 years of dedication

Gandhinagar: The BJP has created history in Gujarat with a landslide victory in the 2022 elections and its 7th consecutive win. It is the party’s largest win in Gujarat Assembly Elections since the state’s formation in 1960. It is an important win for the BJP. Traditionally, there has always been a strong contest between the BJP and Congress in Gujarat, but this time around, Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) entry made these elections an interesting one. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal tried hard to woo the people of Gujarat with the promises of providing free electricity and water, ₹1000 per month for women and loan waiver for farmers. On the other hand, Congress also tried to attract voters with all kinds of attractive. But the people of Gujarat have once again kept their faith in the saffron party by making the BJP victorious.

One might think that how has the BJP been able to remain in power for 27 years and continued receiving such love and affection from the people of Gujarat. What is the reason that the people of Gujarat chose the BJP time and again?

The Modi Factor

No one would have thought that Narendra Modi, who replaced Keshubhai Patel as the Chief Minister in 2001, would win the hearts of people this way. By successfully implementing a slew of measures to restore Gujarat in the aftermath of the 2001 earthquake, he instilled a new hope in the hearts of people. He infused life into a dormant administration and initiated an era of Good Governance in the state. He touched upon every sphere of development, ranging from Education, Health, Infrastructure, Industry, Law and Order etc and left an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of the people of the state.

 

Water

There was a time when Gujarat faced acute shortage of potable water and water for irrigation. In such a scenario, Narendra Modi undertook a humungous task of laying a dedicated network of canals and implementing the Sujalam Sufalam Yojana and the SAUNI Yojana. Through this, he initiated a set of measures to permanently solve the water crisis in Gujarat. He took on the then Union Government and his opponents to successfully complete the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Yojana and ensure that the waters of Narmada reach every nook and corner of the state. Gujarat went on to become a Water Sufficient State from a Water Scarce State owing to the administrative acumen of Narendra Modi. It is for this reason that Gujaratis have constantly gifted the BJP a win in every election. Gujarat has been the Best State for 3 consecutive years in the Water Management Index of NITI Aayog. Similarly, in 2019, Gujarat was ranked number 2 in the category of Best States in water management across the country. Gujarat has come in the category of those selected states of the country which have 100% Nal Se Jal.

Safe and Secure Gujarat

There was a time when mafias and thugs instilled fear in Gujaratis. Law and order was deteriorating day by day. After becoming the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi decided to deal with thugs and mafias with sternness. He ordered the police force to show zero tolerance towards anti-social elements. And as a result, Gujarat became a safe and secure state over the years. To add, Modi became synonymous with Safety and Security. This is why the people of Gujarat vote for the BJP despite Modi becoming the Prime Minister.

Agriculture

Gujarat has been India’s Centre of Attraction in agriculture. The state’s agricultural income has increased from ₹9,000 crore to ₹ 2,05,000 crore in the last two decades. A vast canal network has solved the problems of the farmers. Gujarat has also registered a double-digit agricultural growth rate in the last two decades. Under the Kisan Samman Nidhi, ₹12,565 crore, in 12 instalments, has been transferred through DBT to more than 57 lakh farmers of Gujarat in the last 3 years.

 

Electricity

Gujarat’s power sector was in a dilapidated state before Modi took over as the Chief Minister. To change the fate of farmers and the people of Gujarat by a 24×7 power supply, Modi initiated the Jyotigram Yojana. It was one of the biggest schemes in India to provide uninterrupted power supply to 18,000 villages. Everyone benefitted from it, be it housewives, students, farmers or businesses.  Now, Gujarat is known as a Power Surplus state.  Gujarat was also the first state in India to launch a Solar Policy in 2009 under Narendra Modi.

 

Empowering the Poor and Deprived

Free ration has been provided to 3.47 crore people of 71 lakh families in the last two years under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. The state government has provided free wheat and rice worth ₹ 10,000 crore to the poor in the last 2 years. Similarly, assistance of over ₹ 35,000 crore has been provided to 1.70 crore poor and needy in 13 phases of the Garib Kalyan Mela.

Education

Smart schools for students have started in Gujarat. Currently, 5268 smart schools are functioning with a total of 15,173 smart classrooms. Initiatives by the state government such as Gunotsav, Praveshotsav, and many others have brought positive changes in primary education. In 2002, the school dropout rate in Gujarat was around 37 percent, which has dropped down to merely 3 percent today. Vidya Samishka Kendra records the online attendance of 1.14 crore students, and 3.92 lakh teachers across 54,273 government and private schools in the state. Mission School of Excellence is being rapidly implemented across Gujarat under which, ₹10,000 crore will be spent in the next 5 years to build better infrastructural facilities and impart quality education in 20,000 schools of the state.

Women empowerment

Women of Gujarat are overjoyed with the law-and-order situation in the state. ‘SHE Team’, a dedicated team for women’s safety, is deployed in the state. It has played a significant role in reducing the crime rate against women. Through helpline numbers 1-0-0, and 1-8-1 Abhayam, complaints related to women and children are being acted upon promptly. Since April 2015, the 1-8-1 Abhayam helpline is operational, in which over 54.25 lakh women have been assisted in dire situations. Since July 2017, ‘One Stop Crisis Centre’ is functioning in 33 districts of Gujarat. A total of 335 One Stop Crisis Centres are functioning in these 33 districts. In 2022, 18,193 women have been assisted here. Women’s representation in local bodies has been raised to 50 percent while 33 percent of government jobs are also reserved for them in Gujarat.

Empowerment of tribals

For tribal welfare, various developmental works have been initiated in the past 20 years at a total cost of over ₹1 lakh crore. In 2021-22, a budgetary provision of ₹2656.40 crore has been made for the overall development of tribals against the budget of ₹100.80 crore in 2002-03, a 26-fold increase. Through implementing the Forest Rights Act, the state government has granted 60,837 hectares of forest land rights to the tribals by accepting 91,884 individual claims.

Vibrant Gujarat

In a first-of-its-kind event in India, Narendra Modi organised a ‘Vibrant Summit’ to attract investors from the country and the globe. Modi had also started working on the concept of Ease of Doing Business in Gujarat from a very early stage. The resounding success of the biennial editions of the Vibrant Summit made Gujarat, the leading state in the country. Attracting large-scale industry and investment has given a new direction to Gujarat’s development and has generated huge employment opportunities. People lay their trust in Modi to fast-track the progress of Gujarat and the BJP government.

Double Engine Government

Central and state governments working in tandem is a crucial factor for the state’s progress. The harmony between Gujarat and the Modi-led Central Government has been instrumental in taking the state’s development to greater heights. As a result, the slogans of the Double-Engine Government were a huge success and proved to be really effective during the recently concluded elections. People have expressed their trust in the Central Government’s role in benefitting the state, right from implementing a plan and allocating funds, to approving major projects. With the cooperation of the centre, several projects such as Bullet Train, Metro Train, Gift City, Greenfield Airport, WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, etc are being carried out in Gujarat.

Compassionate yet Determined Leader

The soft-spoken personality of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel coupled with his resolute decision-making has been appreciated by the people of Gujarat. Bhupendra Patel has carried forward the legacy of Modi. Staying away from controversies, Bhupendrabhai has concentrated more on taking prompt decisions for the larger interest of the public. During his tenure, Gujarat has performed flawlessly on several parameters of development. It would not be wrong to say that his simplicity and ability to follow Modi’s path has once again inspired the people to vote for BJP.

Gujarati Pride

The population of six and a half crore people in Gujarat very well associate themselves with Narendra Modi. They take immense pride in the feeling that a Gujarati among them makes their home state proud at the national level. The growing popularity of India among the superpower nations under Modi’s regime has made the people of Gujarat proud. Be it cordial and friendly ties countries like the US, France, the UK, or the courage to compete with China, the rising credibility of India under the able leadership of Modi is trusted by everyone. Thus, a Gujarati who is proud of Modi’s strength and his influence is standing beside him in these elections as well.

DeshGujarat