‘Full faith that Kerala will give BJP a chance in upcoming assembly elections as well’: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday highlighted the BJP’s strong performance in recent local body elections in Kerala and Maharashtra. He said the party has emerged as the number one force in Maharashtra’s municipal politics, whose results he described as “unprecedented” and a clear reflection of growing public trust in the BJP.

Futher, he expressed confidence that the people in Kerala would definitely give the BJP an opportunity in the assembly elections set for this year.

Addressing party workers at the BJP national headquarters in the national capital as Nitin Nabin assumed charge as its national president, PM Modi said, “The results of the recent mayoral and councillor elections are unprecedented. The BJP has emerged as the number one party in Maharashtra’s local bodies. The people of 25 of the 29 major cities have chosen the BJP-NDA. Fifty per cent of all councillors elected belong to the BJP”.

“Similarly, in Kerala, the BJP now has nearly a hundred councillors. In Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, the people snatched power from the Left after 45 years in the mayoral elections and placed their trust in the BJP. I have full faith that in the upcoming assembly elections as well, the people will surely give the BJP a chance”, he said.

#WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, “The latest example is our Maharashtra. The results of the recent mayoral and councillor elections are unprecedented. The BJP has emerged as the number one party in Maharashtra’s local bodies. The people of 25 of the 29 major… pic.twitter.com/3a1XAH27L8

— ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2026

The Prime Minister attributed this success to the party’s focus on governance, saying, “Today, the BJP is also a party of governance. After independence, the country has seen different models of governance – the Congress’s dynastic politics model, the Left’s model, the regional parties’ model, the era of unstable governments, but today the country is witnessing the BJP’s model of stability, good governance, and development.”

Emphasising the motto of service to the people of the BJP, the Prime Minister added, “Service to the people has always been our topmost priority. We have made power not a means of pleasure but a medium of service, and therefore, the people’s trust in the BJP has continuously strengthened.”

PM Modi also spoke about the party’s flagship welfare initiatives. “After 70 years of independence, piped water had reached only three crore rural families. No one cared about the pain of mothers and sisters, the struggles they faced for water. In just five-six years, more than 12 crore families have been connected to the water supply through taps. The BJP ran a campaign with full sensitivity to connect every home to LPG. Similarly, there is a campaign to turn village sisters into Lakhpati Didis. This too became possible because the BJP is sensitive to the dreams of sisters and daughters,” he said.

Targeting the Congress government in the Northeast, PM Modi said, “Our Northeast region doesn’t have many voters, nor does it have many seats. That’s why it was neglected for years under the Congress governments. But the sensitive BJP connected the Northeast to both Dil and Delhi”.

#WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, “Today, the country faces a huge challenge from illegal immigrants and the resulting demographic imbalance. Even the world’s wealthiest and most powerful countries are investigating and apprehending illegal immigrants within… pic.twitter.com/hOSFUq04VW

— ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2026

Furthermore, PM Modi also warned about infiltrators across the country, saying, “We must continue to face every challenge with our full strength. Today, a very significant challenge before the country is that of infiltrators. No one in the world accepts infiltrators in their country, and India too cannot allow infiltrators to rob its poor and youth of their rights.”

Taking a jibe at Opposition parties, he added, “Infiltrators pose a very serious threat to the country’s security; identifying them and sending them back to their countries is extremely necessary. Moreover, those political parties that are protecting infiltrators for the sake of vote-bank politics must be fully exposed before the public with all our might.”

Earlier in the day, Nitin Nabin formally took charge as the national president of the BJP. The ceremony was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, outgoing BJP national president JP Nadda, several other BJP leaders, and Chief Ministers from BJP-ruled states.

Nabin, a senior Indian politician, is a five-time member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly and former Minister in the government of Bihar. He is widely recognised for his sustained organisational acumen and administrative experience.

The BJP’s national president election process kicked off after 30 out of 36 state presidents were elected, exceeding the required 50 per cent threshold. The election schedule was announced on January 16, 2026, along with the electoral roll. As scheduled, the nomination process took place on January 19, 2026, between 2 pm and 4 pm.

A total of 37 sets of nomination papers were received in favour of Nitin Nabin for the post of national president, with proposals from top leaders including PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and Rajnath Singh. (ANI)