Union minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Law and Justice minister Kiren Rijiju, minister of state for Minority Affairs John Barla and deputy chief minister Y. Patton led the BJP’s campaign trail across Eastern Nagaland on Friday.
Addressing an election rally for BJP candidate Cheong at Mon town, Sonowal asserted that the BJP-NDPP alliance was committed to work for peace, progress and prosperity of Nagaland. He said the holistic development of Nagaland and the entire Northeast was made possible due to the untiring efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He pointed out that Modi’s love and goodwill for the Northeast was evident from his 56 visits to the region in the last eight years, claiming that no Prime Minister had given so much importance to growth and development of the region before that.
Sonowal, who is among the star BJP campaigners, stated that the peace and sustainable development in the region was the result of Modi’s vision to make the Northeast the new engine of growth for India.
He assured that under Modi’s leadership, the BJP-NDPP alliance would continue to work towards peace, progress and prosperity of Nagaland, highlighting “Your vote for the BJP-NDPP alliance will be a vote for peace and progress of Nagaland”. He stated that India was working towards becoming a self-reliant country by 2047, a goal set by Modi to usher in economic progress in the country.
He also claimed that Nagaland was experiencing peace and development due to the efforts of the Prime Minister to find a proper solution to the issues faced by Naga society.
The mentioned that the growth currently witnessed in the region was only the beginning of a glorious new era of progress to finally become the engine of growth for India in the future.
In his speech, Patton reiterated the statement of chief minister Neiphiu Rio that no other party would be accommodated in the alliance since NDPP-BJP combine would secure more than 40 seats. He assured that the NDPP-BJP government would provide a stable government and complete the tenure without any glitches.
He promised to develop Mon town if the BJP candidate was supported and given a chance to serve the constituency, adding that all efforts would be made to complete the medical college in Mon. Seeking support for Cheong, Patton assured to take up development activities if the BJP candidate was elected. He said Union Home Minister Amit Shah would visit Mon district and stay for the night. He also rubbished the allegation that BJP was an anti-Christian party by stating that it respected all religions and pointed out that one of the party’s star campaigners was a former pastor. Sonowal was also accompanied by Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs John Barla, Rajya Sabha MP S. Phangnon Konyak and others.
Rijiju campaigns: Union Law and Justice minister Kiren Rijiju campaigned for BJP candidates in Mon district on Friday.
Addressing the rally at Tizit for sitting MLA and BJP candidate P Paiwang Konyak, Rijiju said whatever commitment made by Paiwang was his (Rijiju) commitment and responsibility to fulfil it at any cost.
Rijiju said Paiwang has great prospects for the future and a person with high calibre like him should be given a chance to represent them once again.
Reminding that Tizit was home for BJP, Rijiju assured that the Konyak community would be fully backed by Centre for all round development. He therefore sought unstinted and re-elect Paiwang.
Later, Rijiju also went to Longwa village to campaign for BJP candidate Konngam Konyak, who is contesting from 44 Phomching constituency.