PM Modi on News Nation: Lok Sabha elections 2019 are being fought on Vikas and Vishwas

The Lok Sabha Elections 2019 are currently being held in seven phases. While the first five phases have ended, the sixth and seventh phase of polls will take place on May 12 and May 19 respectively. In the meantime, election campaigns are underway and every political party is exchanging heated conversations. Right from corruption, development, appeasement politics, Nationalism to National security, all the political parties have their agendas and trying to attract voters in large. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an exclusive interview with News Nation’s Deepak Chaurasia and Peenaz Tyagi, feels that the Lok Sabha elections 2019 are being fought on development plank and trust as well.

“As far as the elections are concerned they are being fought on development plank. But apart from ‘Vikas’, it is about ‘Vishwas’ also,” PM Modi said. “The reason is 2014 and the regime before that. People were dejected with no aspirations and their hopes were shattered. But with the journey of 2014 to 2019, people developed a trust. So this election is actually about pro-incumbency wave. This election will bring NDA-government back to power.”

The prime minister further said, “I was expecting that our critics would have studied our government’s working and during the elections, they would come up with some facts but they are not ready to work hard on their research. They are afraid that if they counter us, they won’t be able to answer how their government was not doing enough. They are afraid that if they raise questions against me and my government, it will expose them. The easy route for them is to create a big lie and abuse Modi. They have abused Modi so much that people have made Modi the mantra.”

On being asked whether the Lok Sabha Elections is about Modi vs Modi and whom he think is his biggest rival, PM Modi said, “We were thinking that there was a wave for the Mahagathbandhan. In Karnataka, during the new government formation, they held hands and sent out a message to the nation. But by the time they reached Delhi, they all were separated. Be it Sharad Pawar or Deve Gowda, have you seen these leaders with Congress? Nobody is ready to stand beside them. Not even ready to click photos.”

During the interview, PM Modi was also asked whether the entire opposition has succeeded in tarnishing his image on corruption charges and also on accusations of weakening institutions and democracy. PM Modi said, “Narendra Modi’s 45 years of public life has gone through a ‘tapasya’. No newspaper wala or TV wala has created Modi. Those who are born on pages of newspapers, they have a very limited life. Those who are born on TV screens, their presence is restricted. But a person who has gone through tapasya, that person has an unlimited life. So, no matter how much anybody tries, if media had created Modi, media would have destroyed Modi. But that didn’t happen.”

“Today, these people are trying to target me using media, but nothing happened. The main reason is that this is not about anybody’s benevolence. This is about 125 crore citizens’ wishes, their ashirwad. Modi is not because of 5-50 Lutyen walas or 5-50 media walas. That’s why I don’t waste my time on what they are doing or saying,” he added.