Claiming that the 'betrayal' by its former ally Biju Janata Dal had 'bolstered' his party's poll prospects in Orissa, BJP stalwart Narendra Modi on Sunday said the party if voted to power would transform the poorest state into an advanced one.
"BJP has been betrayed in Orissa, but it has come as a blessing by improving our electoral prospects," BJP's star campaigner said, addressing an election meeting in Brajrajnagar in the state.
Citing the example of Karnataka, the Gujarat chief minister said BJP had emerged stronger and was able to gain power after it was betrayed there.
"Similarly, we will overcome the difficult phase in Orissa and come out victorious in the elections on our own strength," the firebrand saffron party leader said.
"I am pained to see Orissa as poor despite having rich mineral resources like coal and iron, forests and a long coastline," he said.
Though Gujarat has no mineral, coal or iron ore and has desert on one side, it is one of the most advanced states in the country, Modi said.
In Orissa, the state is exploiting the sea-shore just for fishing but Gujarat is fully utilising it for business purposes. All the villages and farmers in Gujarat are getting electricity uninterrupted round-the-clock, he said, asking people to change the government to ensure prosperity.
The hungry people of Orissa were going to Gujarat in search of employment. "If you give a chance to the BJP, those who have gone to Gujarat will come back to Orissa and work in their own land without going to any state for job. It can also attract people from other states like Gujarat," Modi added.