'18th Lok Sabha verdict extraordinary': PM Modi in 1st public remarks after forming government thrice

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, June 18

Bowing to the voters of sacred city Varanasi which re-elected him for the third successive time in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the electorate of his home constituency deserved double greetings.

“Kashi deserves double greetings because its voters have chosen not just their Member of Parliament for the third time but also the Prime Minister,” Modi said amid thunderous applause as he made the maiden public appearance after forming the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre.

In his first remarks on the verdict that stopped him short of a majority in Parliament but gave his party enough numbers to lead a coalition government, Modi said the 2024 mandate delivered by the Indian voters was “extraordinary.” The PM also said the election in which nearly 64 crore voters participated mirrored the majesty of Indian democracy to the world as the number of Indian electorate is 2.5 times the total voters of EU nations and 1.5 times those of the G 7 nations.

“This election for the 18th Lok Sabha mirrored the grandeur, the capacity, the scope, the depth of the roots of Indian democracy to the world. As many as 64 cr people voted. No country has witnessed an election larger than this, an election where such a huge proportion of the population votes. Even if we combine the voters of all G7 nations, Indian voters would be 1.5 times higher than them. If we combine the voters of all EU nations, Indian voter numbers would be 2.5 times higher,” said Modi.

He hailed the verdict saying people had delivered an extraordinary mandate in this election.

“The mandate has set history. Rarely has any incumbent government been voted back thrice in a row in democracies across the world. But Indian citizens have done this also. This happened in India 60 years ago. Ever since then no government managed to strike a hat-trick. You gave this chance to your servant (sewak) Modi in a country where youth aspirations are high, and people's dreams unlimited. In such a country if people re-elect a government even after 10 years of service, it signals a massive victory and a massive public trust. This trust is my asset,” the PM said as he addressed farmers in his first public event post elections and released the 17th instalment of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, amounting to Rs 20,000 cr for 9.2 cr farmers.

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