Nagpur, April 8 (IANS): Launching his maiden campaign in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday that the people of India have resolved to re-elect Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister for a third straight term.

“For the first time since Independence, the people of the country know who will be the next PM. They have already made up their minds that it’s going to be Modiji again… This is what I have witnessed in all corners of the country,” Yogi Adityanath said while addressing back-to-back rallies in Wardha, Bhandara-Gondiya, and Nagpur LS constituencies.

Clad in his trademark saffron robes with a red ‘tilak’ on his forehead, Yogi Adityanath canvassed for BJP nominees and sitting MPs – Union Minister Nitin Gadkari (Nagpur), Ramdas Tadas (Wardha), both aiming for hat-trick, and Sunil Mendhe (Bhandara-Gondiya), who's hoping to repeat his 2019 feat.

In near-identical speeches, the Uttar Pradesh CM highlighted the growth, progress, and global respect earned under PM Modi’s 10-year rule, saying the country is now poised to become a developed economy in the next three years.

“Crores of people were given subsidised gas cylinders, crores of youths got jobs, tap water supply has been provided to crores at home, while four crore families have been allotted houses under the PM Awas Yojana.

"The next stage is to make India a fully developed country, with the fruits of progress reaching every village, and the nation becoming a global economic powerhouse in the next term of Modiji,” Yogi Adityanath said.

Referring to the Ram Temple inaugurated in Ayodhya in January, he said for the first time in 500 years, the people of the country witnessed with pride how Ram Lalla played holi and was smeared with colours last month.

“People from all over the country are visiting the Ram Temple… UP has become a changed state free of any curfews or riots that occurred earlier. People are living happily there… After the elections, I would like to invite you all for Ram Lalla’s darshan,” the BJP leader said.

Crediting the Prime Minister for the various policy initiatives, he said that Narendra Modi achieved what no government could since 1952, including the revocation of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir, besides instilling a sense of fear in the minds of terrorists all over.

“By revoking Article 370, Modiji has dealt a severe blow to terror… The government has also shown the world that if needed, we can enter Pakistan and eliminate the terrorists. The world has acknowledged our courage, and it supports us in the fight against Pakistan’s terror,” pointed out Yogi Adityanath.

He also targeted the Opposition, saying they are fumbling as they have ‘no neta, niti, or niyat’ (no leader, policy, or intention), as he called upon the people of Maharashtra to vote overwhelmingly for the BJP candidates in the first phase of polling on April 19.

Before his Nagpur rally, Yogi Adityanath was accorded a warm welcome by Nitin Gadkari and his family members at the latter's residence.

While Yogi Adityanath campaigned for the three BJP nominees, PM Modi campaigned for state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who is the BJP candidate from the neighbouring Chandrapur LS seat, on Monday.