Rich references to the nationalist, cultural and intellectual prowess of West Bengal formed the core of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory speech at the BJP headquarters after the party pulled off a historic win in the eastern state today.From salutations to Bengal-born Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Jana Sangh, the BJP’s precursor; to references to Rabindranath Tagore and national song writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay; and a recall of how Anga, Banga and Kalinga formed the pillars of India’s golden age, the PM said Bengal has seen a new sunrise today and rejected the politics of fear and violence.Modi said the lotus is now blooming from Gangotri to Gangasagar with the BJP’s historic victory in West Bengal and asked all parties to work for change, not revenge, and ensure that the state’s future trumps over fear.“Anga (Bihar), Banga (Bengal) and Kalinga (Odisha) were the three pillars of India’s golden era. For India to become a developed nation, these three pillars must be rejuvenated. Fortunately, the people of these three regions have chosen the BJP for the goal of Viksit Bharat,” the Prime Minister said, adding that women’s empowerment is another key pillar of a developed India.Borrowing from Gurudev Tagore’s Gitanjali, the PM said the BJP would usher in Bengal an atmosphere where “the mind is without fear and the head is held high”.He also said women of Bengal, DMK and Kerala had punished the TMC, DMK and Left for stalling the Bill on 33 per cent women’s reservation and next the Samajwadi Party will have to face the wrath of women in UP (elections) in 2027.For Bengal, the Prime Minister appealed to all parties to end the cycle of political violence and work towards the state’s progress. He promised that, in the first Cabinet meeting, the government would roll out Ayushman Bharat, ensure women’s safety, deport illegal infiltrators, and create jobs for the state’s youth.In other important remarks, the PM described today’s results as a strong statement of faith in “India’s democratic and constitutional institutions”, a remark meant to counter TMC’s anti-Election Commission pitch over voter roll revision. Modi also singled out the Congress for attack, saying that while the last Left bastion had fallen in Kerala, the party had become a “club of urban Naxals”.“The Congress can never understand the politics of aspiration, unlike the BJP, which is driven by the principle of ‘nation first’,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the TMC, DMK and the Left — voted out today — are bound by one common trait: “speaking the language of division rather than unity”.“Next time, the women of Kerala will teach the Congress a lesson,” he said, adding that the BJP has emerged as the party of choice across segments, regions and states.