Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja told the Gujarat Assembly on Thursday that “butchers and bootleggers” did not vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state elections held in December. The BJP’s tally in the Assembly elections went down from 115 seats to 99.

In response to a dig by the Congress at the BJP’s poll performance, Jadeja said, “I [will] tell you who did not vote for us. It was those butchers who were angry at us for introducing a tough anti-cow slaughter law. It was bootleggers who were angry because the BJP government has introduced a tough prohibition law.”

He added that people who were opposed to the triple talaq bill also did not vote for his party, PTI reported. “But we are not bothered about them,” he said.

Jadeja claimed the BJP was voted to power by the “rural people, youths who got employment, and women who benefited from the policies of the government”.

He said the Congress gained 77 seats despite its leaders’ casteist and communal politics. “Congress leaders used to claim ahead of the polls that the party will come to power by winning over 125 seats. However, they got only 77 seats,” he said. Without naming Rahul Gandhi, Jadeja added that “a Congress leader visited many temples, but it did not yield results for the party”.