Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat in Bhuj on Monday. Gujarat Assembly elections will be held on December 9 and 14.

The prime minister is set to address at least 35 rallies, beginning with the Bharatiya Janata Party stronghold Bhuj city. Later in the day, he addressed rallies in Rajkot, Amreli and Surat districts.

In Bhuj, Modi claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was not hungry for power. “We are here for 125 crore Indians. We want to take India to new heights of glory,” he said. “There are some people who love spreading negativity and pessimism. They lack Neeti (policy), Niyat (intention), a Neta (leader) and a Naata (bond) with the people.”

Most of Modi’s speech targeted the Congress party, which has been criticising his government’s policies. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who has been campaigning in the state over the past two months, has repeatedly hit out at the BJP and Modi over demonetisation, the Goods and Services Tax, unemployment and the issues of farmers.

“The Congress is unhappy about demonetisation,” Modi said on Monday. “They keep attacking me but I want to tell them... I have grown up in the same land as Sardar Patel. I will ensure that the poor get their due. We will not allow this nation to be looted.”

He accused the Congress of celebrating the release of terrorist Hafiz Saeed. “A Pakistani court released a Pakistani terrorist and the Congress is celebrating,” Modi said. “I was surprised.”

He said, “India was attacked on 26/11 and in Uri. You can see how India responded in the wake of both attacks. This explains the difference between their [Congress] government and ours.” Attacking the Congress over what he called Vanshwad, or dynasty, Modi said, “On one side there is Vikas [development] and Vishwas [trust], on the other side there is Vanshwad.”

“Congress has never liked Gujarat, it has always preferred to see it lag behind,” the prime minister added.

Modi at Jasdan in Rajkot

At another rally in Jasdan in Rajkot district, Modi said the Congress attacked him because of his “poor origins”. “Can a party stoop so low?” he said.

“Yes, a person belonging to a poor family has become the prime minister. They do not fail to hide their contempt for this fact. Yes, I sold tea but I did not sell the nation,” Modi said, referring to a social media post by an online magazine run by the Congress’ youth wing that made fun of Modi’s beginnings as a tea seller.

Modi at Dhari in Amreli

At the rally in the town of Dhari in Amreli district, Modi talked of how the region of Saurashtra had emerged as the “hub for dairy and cooperative sectors over the last two decades”, and of the BJP government’s efforts to utilise the strengths of this coastal district.

Modi in Surat

In Surat, Modi said that the arrogance of the Congress party is at a record high. He said, “Overnight, Indiraji [former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi] removed Morarji [Desai] bhai from the Cabinet. She didn’t open doors of the bank for the poor. When we got the opportunity to serve, the first thing we did was to start Jan Dhan Yojana and focus on financial inclusion.”

He also said that the Congress had not done anything and did not want to do anything, nor does it want anyone else to do anything for the people.