Results a pointer to Modi’s growing popularity: Rajnath

Buoyed by its impressive show in the Assembly polls in four heartland States, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said the results should be seen as a bellwether of national mood ahead of the 2014 general elections. “The results are also an indication of the growing popularity of our prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi,’’ the BJP chief said. In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the party was expected to face an anti-incumbency vote but the results had proved that the people in the States voted for “good governance.” “The Congress has tried to portray Rajasthan as a good governance model but the party had to face defeat. On whether the party would stake its claim to form the government in Delhi,, Mr. Singh said: “We are the single largest party in Delhi, we are confident of forming the government.” He declined to comment on the possibility of reaching out to the Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP was the biggest beneficiary of the anti-incumbency vote.” Asked whether it was the Modi effect — his popularity and campaigning — that helped change the BJP’s fortunes in Rajasthan and Delhi, Mr. Singh said: “On the basis of our analysis, we have come to the conclusion that the party has benefited from Mr. Modi’s popularity, but the popularity of all the four projected Chief Ministers, Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in Delhi, Dr. Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh, also helped.” Citing numbers, a visibly happy Mr. Singh said the party had done incredibly well in all the four States, dismissing speculation about the vote share having dipped in some places.