NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said blessings from ‘Nari Shakti‘ inspire him to keep working towards building a ‘Viksit Bharat,’ as he responded to a heartfelt gesture by a tribal woman from Odisha who handed over Rs 100 to BJP vice president Baijayant Jay Panda, “conveying thanks” to PM Modi.
Prime Minister Modi’s response followed a post by BJP vice president Baijayant Jay Panda on X.In the post, Panda shared that during a membership drive in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Friday, he met a tribal woman who insisted on giving him money to “convey thanks” to PM Modi for his efforts.
“This Adivasi lady insisted on giving me Rs 100 to ‘convey thanks’ to PM Narendra Modi. She brushed aside my demurrals & explanations that it wasn’t necessary, & simply would not take no for an answer until I finally relented,” the five-time MP said in his X post along with pictures of meeting with her.
“This is a reflection of the transformation that Odisha & Bharat is experiencing,” he added.
Touched by the gesture, PM Modi responded saying, “I bow to our Nari Shakti for always blessing me. Their blessings inspire me to keep working to build a Viksit Bharat.”
The BJP holds power in Odisha, with a sitting chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who recently took oath in the presence of Prime Minister Modi. The party ended the 24-year rule of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) by winning 78 out of 147 seats in the 2024 state elections, which were held alongside the Lok Sabha polls. The BJD secured 51 seats, falling short of the 74-seat majority, while the Congress managed to win only 14 seats.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP secured 20 out of the 21 parliamentary seats in the state, while the Congress won just one, and the BJD drew a blank.