Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday that the trust in BJP due to its effective delivery on promises made to the people and transparent governance had helped the party retain power in four states. He said women and the youth had rallied behind BJP and the former were the driving force behind the party’s impressive performance.

Modi was given a rousing welcome at the BJP headquarters here in the evening after the saffron party was headed towards a stupendous victory in Uttar Pradesh and was set to retain power in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. Senior party leaders and ministers were present along with a huge crowd that hailed Modi.

Using cricket terminology for the win the four states, Modi said the people have ensured a “chauka (four)” for the NDA. He said after more than 30 years a party has won a consecutive term while in Goa BJP will begin its third straight term and despite being in power for 10 years, the seat tally has gone up. In Uttarakhand, for the first time a party is retaining power.

“Trust in BJP is the common thread in this victory. There is trust among the people in the party’s ‘niti, niyat and niraraya (policies, intent and decisions)’. There is a strong stamp of approval in this verdict for pro-poor, pro-active governance…. Good governance and delivery are very important. We improved governance delivery and also brought transparency,” Modi said.

He thanked women for supporting BJP in these elections and claimed that in seats where women have outnumbered men in casting their votes, the party has won with a “bumper majority”. He further said a day will come when the people ensure the sun sets on dynasty politics.

Congress had run its election campaign in UP on the “ladki hu, lad sakti hu” slogan and given 40% of its ticket to women with the aim of wooing this vote base under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi. Modi’s dynasty politics jibe was targeted at both SP and Congress.

The Prime Minister also maintained the youth is backing the party. High unemployment has been a major issue in these Assembly elections.

Modi underlined that he will ensure welfare schemes reach the doorstep of the poor.

“I had shown the courage that perhaps few will when I announced from the Red Fort on Independence Day that wherever we get an opportunity to serve the people we will ensure 100% saturation in welfare schemes reaching the intended beneficiaries,” he said.

The Prime Minister said after BJP’s win in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections a discourse was started that this decided the victory in UP in 2o17 itself. The same discourse should take place now that this 2022 win sets the roadmap for 2024 general elections,” Modi said.

The war in Ukraine also figured in his speech. In an ostensible move to explain why there is high food inflation, Modi said the war has disrupted the global supply chain and made the import of sunflower and palm oil, among other goods, costly.