4 min readAhmedabadMay 18, 2026 04:28 AM IST
Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah on Sunday said that the BJP is moving ahead in the direction of a “one umbrella rule” in the country that the Congress had achieved under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi after Independence.
Now 80% of the region of the country is under the governments of the BJP or NDA, Shah said and gave credit for the achievement to BJP workers.
“Now the BJP rules states from Uttarakhand to Uttar Pradesh to Bihar till West Bengal; covering the area between the origin of river Ganga and the place where it merges with the ocean,” he said.
Shah was addressing a public gathering in Gandhinagar after inaugurating or laying the foundation stone of developmental projects worth around Rs 620 crore in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation.
Shah is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, his first after the BJP’s historic election victory in West Bengal where the saffron party secured 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, ending the Trinamool Congress’ 15-year rule.
Shah said fed up with misrule for the past 50 years, the people of West Bengal have blessed the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with votes. The election rallies of PM Modi were getting huge response in West Bengal even in scorching heat, Shah said, adding that he was confident of the BJP’s victory in it.
“And by giving 207 seats to the BJP, the people of West Bengal have given a big responsibility to the party,” he added.
Shah drew a parallel between the present day West Bengal and the Gujarat of 1964 and added that even the Gujarat of 1964 would score better than the current West Bengal.
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“If somebody had filmed Gujarat of ެ how was Gujarat’s village of 1964, how were Gujarat’s cities then, how was the situation of lights then…And if someone films present day (West) Bengal, I am sure that the Gujarat of 1964 will score two marks more,” the Union Minister claimed.
“No development activity for the past 50 years ( in Bengal)… The ruling party would claim commission in purchase of even a tube light, brick and cement. And even if a person buys a fan, cheaper by Rs 2,000, from a neighbouring state, (people) would turn up to claim tax on it at railway station,” Shah alleged.
“Those who call themselves guardians of democracy have made this condition of such a huge state, which was the most prosperous one at the time of Independence. People, fed up with the misrule of 50 years, have blessed the leadership of PM Modi with votes with both hands and formed our (BJP) government,” he said.
Gujarat local polls
Shah said that Congress has been wiped out in the recent Gujarat body polls to such an extent that “it cannot be found even with the help of binoculars”.
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The BJP won all the municipal corporations, 77 of 85 municipalities, 33 of 34 district panchayats and 253 out of 260 taluka panchayats in the elections.
Shah taunted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his purported claim of winning the next Gujarat Assembly elections. “Rahul Gandhi was doing ‘karyakarta sammelan’ here saying ‘next time Congress’ (in Gujarat). My brother, there is no chance (for the Congress) here in (your) seven births. And this is not arrogance. Arrogance cannot be the nature of a BJP worker. But I am saying this with confidence on the basis of works done by the BJP.”
