Gowda congratulates Modi, says he must show his ability

Hassan: Former Prime Minister and JDS chief H D Deve Gowda, who had declared that he would take "political sanyas" if Narendra Modi could lead the BJP to get 272 plus seats, on Monday congratulated him for his achievement in the Lok Sabha polls and said, he has won a massive mandate.

Modi must show his ability and intelligence to ensure the development of the entire nation to the expectations of the people of the country, Gowda told reporters here. In the run-up to the elections, Gowda had said: "He (Modi) can never reach his numbers. If he achieves it, then I will take political sanyas", challenging Modi and his team to prove their claims. Gowda`s party secured two Lok Sabha seats including his from Hassan. "I am a born fighter throughtout my political life.....I have not lost my heart by the results of the Parliamentary elections...,", he said. To a question, he said, "I don?t want to describe the present situation of the Congress party but regional parties have also shown good results...You can`t rule out the regional parties," he said.