Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party`s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi urged the voters of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh to come out in huge number and vote for the party on May 12.
Modi, made his final appeal to the voters on Saturday, two days ahead of the 9th and the final phase of voting which is scheduled on Monday.
“Give BJP all seats from UP & give us the opportunity to take UP & India`s development journey to newer heights,” the Gujarat chief minister wrote on microblogging website yesterday.
Give BJP all seats from UP & give us the opportunity to take UP & India's development journey to newer heights http://t.co/Rc2xG9e4De
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 10, 2014
“UP has won me over! I have received tremendous affection from people of UP during the entire campaign. My gratitude to the people of UP,” Modi added.
UP has won me over! I have received tremendous affection from people of UP during the entire campaign. My gratitude to the people of UP.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 10, 2014
Making an appel to the voters to throw the scandal-plagued Congress party from power, Modi said in a blog late yesterday, "People are tired of false promises, corruption and the same old tape-recorded messages ridden with dynastic references only to hide one`s own failure."
"They want a better tomorrow and NDA is the only alliance that can provide this change," Modi said, referring to a BJP-led National Democratic Alliance coalition.
"I urge all those voting in the final phase to vote in record numbers, especially the youth," he said.
Politicians were barred from making speeches and taking to the hustings on Sunday, one day before 66 million people were eligible to cast their ballots in 41 seats in the final stage of voting.
Campaigning ended on Saturday in the five-week election that is likely to see Congress, headed by Rahul Gandhi, scion of India`s most famous political dynasty, ousted from power after 10 years in charge.
Opinion polls show voters have turned against Congress over massive graft scandals, spiralling inflation and a sharp economic slowdown during its two terms running a left-leaning coalition government since 2004.
Counting and results are due to be announced on Friday.
Modi, who has pledged development, investment and jobs to revive the struggling economy, sought to strike a note of unity in his last-ditch message to voters before the campaign ended.
"We can decide whether we want to fight each other or we want to unite to fight poverty? The former will lead us nowhere while the latter will take our nation to greater heights," Modi said in his blog.
The campaign has descended into bitter claims from Rahul and other Congress leaders that Modi will spread divisions between the majority Hindu and minority Muslim communities if elected.
Although popular, Modi is a deeply polarising figure due to his Hindu nationalist past and allegations that he failed to swiftly curb deadly 2002 anti-Muslim riots.
The riots that swept Gujarat during his early years as chief minister of the prosperous western state, left at least 1,000 people, mainly Muslims dead.
Gandhi, whose lacklustre leadership of the Congress campaign has drawn criticism, on Saturday warned that Modi "only wants to divide people, make people fight each other".
With ageny inputs
