Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will cross the 400-seat mark in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and said the next five years will see rapid development in the country

Speaking at a public rally in Yavatmal district, Modi slammed the Congress over pending irrigation projects in the country, especially in the Vidarbha region of eastern Maharashtra, where the district is located

"We (BJP-led NDA) will cross the 400-seat tally this time," Modi said ahead of the Lok Sabha polls which are likely to be held in April-May

"The coming five years will see rapid development," the Prime Minister maintained

He attacked former Union minister Sharad Pawar and said when he handled the agriculture portfolio (in the Congress-led UPA government from 2004 to 2014), financial packages would be announced for farmers, but the money would be siphoned off before it could reach the beneficiaries

Addressing a gathering here in which he unveiled multiple development projects worth over Rs 4900 crore, the Prime Minister said there is an echo in the entire country that the BJP-led NDA will get over 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls

"If they get empowered then every section, every community and every family will get empowered. We are on a mission to build the nation and uplift the lives of the people of the country. Therefore, whatever we did in the last 10 years is a foundation for the next 25 years. I have resolved to make every nook and corner of the country developed. To accomplish this resolve, my life is dedicated to you," he said

"I bow down to the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. I also bow down to Baba Saheb Ambedkar... When, 10 years ago, I came to Yavatmal for `Chai pe Charcha`, you blessed us. The people of India made the NDA cross 300. In 2019, we crossed 350. Today ahead of the 2024 election, when I have come to join the festival of development, then only one voice is echoing in the country, this time over 400," he said

"When the INDI Alliance was in power in the Centre, what was the situation?... Packages used to be announced for the farmers of Vidarbha from Delhi, but they were looted in the middle. Poor, farmers and the Adivasis did not get anything. Today, I pressed one button, and Rs 21,000 crore of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi reached the accounts of crores of farmers. This is Modi`s guarantee," he said