As the initial EC trends Thursday indicated another term for the NDA government at the Centre, sitting MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, who is leading from the Jammu parliamentary seat, said people voted for the “courageous and bold steps” taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sharma is leading against his rival Congress candidate Raman Bhalla by over 30,000 votes in Jammu seat. “It is vote for the courageous and bold steps taken Prime Minister Narendra Modi during last five year of his rule,” Sharma told reporters outside the counting centre here. He expressed confidence that this “sweeping trend in favour of the BJP will turn soon into results”. Asked whether it was Balakote or development that is credited to the BJP trends, he said that everything that is taken in the interest of the country including security, development and peace and progress goes to the credit of government. “Modi ji took strong steps for the security of the country and also for development. It is a mix of all of these initiatives”, he said. He said the BJP had performed well in Kashmir too in the last local body polls and “our efforts are on to do better in these polls as well”. Asked if his party would scrap Article 370 and 35-A if voted back to power, he said it is already in the BJP’s poll manifesto. “We will do everything which is in the interest of Jammu and Kashmir. Nothing has been given by these Acts”, he said. The BJP wants assembly elections as soon as possible, he said.
