'Others Will Get a Chance if We Haven’t Performed Well': Nitin Gadkari Shares Another Cryptic Remark

New Delhi: In a crucial message to voters just days ahead of the first phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections, Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said people should judge the government on the basis of the work it has done in the past five years.

Gadkari, in an interview to a TV channel, said the upcoming elections were a test of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) governance and “if people think we have not performed well, other parties will get a chance”.

The BJP is looking to repeat its 2014 performance where it swept to power riding on the “Modi wave”. The party has been taking its welfare schemes door-to-door and recently launched its mega election sop of a cash transfer to poor farmers. The first installment of Rs 2,000 has already reached some beneficiaries.

Gadkari had earlier said the party must not give false assurances to people ahead of elections. "I have decided not to take the name of opposition candidates and not criticise any party. I will tell the people about the work that I have done and will seek the votes on the basis of work done by me," said Gadkari. “We have completed the works promised in the last manifesto. We should not give false assurances to public. We will do what we have assured. We will say what we have done," said the Union minister.

He had also said there was a difference between confidence and arrogance and it was important for one to understand it. "One should have confidence but not arrogance. Hence, reach out to the public with humility and tell them about the work done by the party," he had said.

The minister had claimed that he had the support of several Congress leaders as he had “worked for all irrespective of their caste, religion, language and party affiliation. A huge number of Congress workers and office-bearers phone me and tell me not to worry”.

“They say though we are physically there (in the Congress), our hearts are with you (Gadkari) and hence I have support from all," he added. He asked the BJP workers to reach out to the people with confidence and advised them to be humble in their conduct. Seeking re-election from Nagpur, Gadkari said he will win the upcoming poll with a bigger margin than in 2014 and announced that he had initiated developmental projects worth Rs 70,000 crore in the constituency.