After the landslide victory in Lok Sabha polls, Narendra Modi arrived in the national capital today to a rousing welcome by thousands of enthusiastic BJP workers and supporters to whom he gave credit for the historic achievement.
The Prime Minister-elect waved victory sign to the cheering crowds of supporters wearing saffron caps and showing BJP flags as he undertook a roadshow from Indira Gandhi International Airport to the party headquarters at Ashoka Road, a distance of about 16 km.
He was received at the airport by a number of senior BJP leaders, including party chief Rajnath Singh.
Escorted by elite commandos, Modi was greeted by supporters at various places along the route from the airport to the party headquarters at Ashoka Road. BJP workers on motorcycles waving party flags were part of the roadshow.
On reaching the BJP headquarters, he briefly addressed the supporters, saying he was thankful to them for rekindling “new hope” through their hard work.
“As a person, Modi requests all of you, don’t give credit for this victory to Modi. It is a result of hard work of lakhs of workers. This victory belongs to those four-five generations who have toiled hard since 1952,” he said.
“The first right of credit for this victory goes to 125 crore Indians and second to those martyred since 1952. In the last 25 years, thousands of our workers were killed in states like Kerala and those who gave up their lives in Tamil Nadu,” Modi said.
A sea of supporters wearing saffron scarfs and Modi face masks gathered at the IGI airport to greet their leader and became ecstatic as the Prime Minister-elect stepped out of Terminal 3.
It also brought the movement of other air passengers at a virtual halt as supporters thronged Modi’s car while the sleuths huddled around it. As the leader left for the BJP headquarters at Ashoka road, he was felicitated at several points where the supporters had gathered in large numbers.
Local BJP leaders, including seven BJP MPs from Delhi, were also present at the airport to receive Modi.
For 18-year-old Dilip Kumar, a janitor by profession working at the airport, it was dream come true to see Modi at such a close distance.
“I voted for him in the election and I was very happy to have seen him from such a close distance,” he said.
“We were are here to celebrate the victory of the BJP and Narendra Modi who registered a spectacular win,” said artist R Narayan Swamy, who had gathered at the BJP office with his music band.