The Bharatiya Janata Party’s hat-trick in the recently-concluded Assembly elections has given it a guarantee of a similar performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

Modi made the remark while addressing BJP workers after the party emerged victorious in three out of the four states where votes were counted on Sunday. As per Election Commission figures at 8.36 pm, the BJP has comfortably crossed the majority mark in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The Congress emerged victorious in Telangana.

The prime minister said that the BJP’s victory is a win for the poor, the farmers and the marginalised. “This victory belongs to each and every person who wants to see ‘Viksit Bharat [developed India]’ in 2024,” he said.

Modi claimed that the election results show that voters have “zero tolerance” for corruption, appeasement and nepotism.

The prime minister said that the results constitute an important lesson for the Opposition’s INDIA alliance. “The lesson is that the country’s trust cannot be earned merely through some political families coming together on a stage,” he said. “A spirit of national service is needed to win the hearts of the people.”

The INDIA bloc, or the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, comprises 28 parties that have come together with the stated intention of putting forward a united front to remove the BJP from power in 2024.

Modi on Sunday also urged the Congress not to engage in “politics that is anti-national, that divides and weakens the country”.

He asserted: “Today’s results are also a lesson to political parties that they should not interfere with the Centre’s public welfare schemes and the funds sent for them. Otherwise, the people will remove you [from power].”

The BJP is currently ahead in 164 out of 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 54 out of 90 seats in Chhattisgarh and 115 out of 199 seats in Rajasthan. The Congress is ahead in 64 out of 119 constituencies in Telangana.

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