Modi's hat-trick in Gujarat inevitable: Bal Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi would lead his party to a third consecutive victory in the December Assembly elections. “Modi has shown his grip on Gujarat and is going to win the polls for the third time in a row,” Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.[caption id=“attachment_480822” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Looking for a hat-trick. PTI[/caption] “This is because of the pace of development in Gujarat in last 10 years under Modi’s leadership. It won’t be easy for anyone to stop the victory march of Modi,” he said. “A picture is painted on TV channels that Modi is some sort of demon and that he is going to gobble up all Muslims in the country,” Thackeray said, adding that it was wrong. “After the Gujarat riots, Congress labelled Modi as “merchant of death” but look what happened. Congress managed only 55 seats but the Modi-led BJP got 121 seats,” the Sena chief said. On the day elections were declared in Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi addressed a rally in that state, Thackeray said. “In her entire speech, she did not even mention Modi’s name once. This is an indication that Congress has conceded defeat even before the electoral battle starts,” he added. Referring to former chief minister Keshubhai Patel forming a political outfit, Thackeray said that Congress feels the dominance of Patels in Saurashtra will benefit it due to division of Hindu votes. This is nothing but a “day dream”, he added. PTI