Performance, not low-level politics, wins elections: Amit Shah after Gujarat, Himachal triumphs

Even as he thanked voters in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for voting BJP to power, Amit Shah once again accused Congress of taking the level of political discourse to unprecedented lows.

Amit Shah being welcomed at BJP's headquarter in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: A visibly beaming Amit Shah on Monday thanked voters in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for showing faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development model and accused Congress of stooping down to unprecedented lows during campaigning.

BJP retained power in Gujarat and seized Himachal Pradesh from Congress. BJP chief Shah said that voters in both states showed that performance is what matters to them the most. "India is entering politics of performance where performance is rewarded. I thank people of Gujarat and Himachal for showing faith in hard-work of BJP workers, policies of PM Modi and poor-centric reforms of Centre," he said during a press conference. "We have never lost in Gujarat since 1990 - whether Lok Sabha or in state assembly elections. It is not a small achievement this."

The achievement came on the back of a fiercely-fought campaign between BJP and Congress - especially in Gujarat. Both parties had accused each other of lowering the level of political discourse but Amit Shah said that it was his party that was at the receiving end. "Congress deviated from the real issues and relied on casteism. During campaigning, there was a conscious bid to take the level of politics lower. We were at the receiving end of low-level comments. When they target even PM Modi with derogatory comments, would we not reply?" he said, referring to Mani Shankar Aiyar's remark in which he had called PM Modi neech.  "People of Gujarat saw through it and decided to give BJP another chance."

Highlighting that BJP has 14 chief ministers and another five represent NDA, Amit Shah also said that his party is all set for the next round of state assembly elections - in 2018. In Gujarat though, the celebrations are likely to reverberate for some time.