Keeping BJP flank covered, Narendra Modi takes battle to 'termite' Congress

As the BJP held its last National Council meeting before the 2014 general elections here Sunday, it was Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who issued the war cry, exhorting the party to "sweat" it out to defeat the Congress.

With the entire party top brass listening, Modi also hinted at the need to choose "one leader" who can make the difference, citing the examples of Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

At the same time, with the BJP sharply divided on his national ambitions, the CM tried to keep the leadership in good humour. His third consecutive victory was not the victory of one person but also that of BJP workers, BJP ideology and the guidance of the party's central leadership, Modi said. "Who is the candidate does not matter much in the BJP. We should keep lotus at the forefront," he said.

In a shrill attack on the Congress, he said: "The party is destroying this country like termites. It is very difficult to deal with termites — you finish them in one place and they rise in another. The only medicine for this ailment is the sweat of the BJP worker. Only this sweat can free this nation from the termite that is the Congress. Whether we take the initiative or not, whether we act or not, the country has decided to move on. It has decided to throw the Congress out."

As party workers cheered him on, Modi also attacked the Congress high command, saying it was not in the "character" and "blood" of the party to provide new direction to the country because it has a "tradition" to "sacrifice" the interests of the nation for "a family". As part of this design, he alleged, the Congress had bypassed Pranab Mukherjee and appointed Manmohan Singh a "nightwatchman" prime minister.

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