New Delhi (TIP)- The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is on course to win 300 seats in the ongoing general elections because the people, and not just the Opposition, are themselves fighting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) due to problems such as inflation and unemployment, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday, May 23. In an interview, the 81-year-old leader alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was nervous about losing the elections that end next week, said there were signs of a change in regime, and declared the Opposition alliance was capable of deftly governing the country if it came to power. “This time, the people themselves are fighting against Modi. It is not our election. Automatically, the people are coming forward and they want to defeat Modi, because of high prices, because of unemployment, because of whatever he said in 10 years, everything is a lie,” he said.
Kharge’s comments came ahead of the penultimate phase of the general elections on May 25 when 58 seats across eight states and Union territories go to the polls. All seven seats in Delhi and 10 in Haryana will vote in this phase.
The Congress chief expressed confidence that INDIA will perform impressively in UP and Maharashtra, two key states that send 128 members to the Lok Sabha between them.
“Whatever we are gaining, the BJP’s seats will get reduced. Our allies, the SP, are doing fine and they are moving everywhere. You can see the crowds and how the response is given to Rahul and also Akhilesh. Therefore, we are confident our strategies worked,” he said.
He said Modi was nervous and pointed to the PM’s controversial statements about Muslim reservation, food habits, and industrialists Ambani and Adani.
“This time Modi is on the backfoot. Because, see how many meetings he has done, has he done so many earlier? How many states he covered with roadshows — has any PM has done so many roadshows? Has he done the same roadshows in 2019? Or 2014? It means that he himself is worried,” Kharge said.
“When a person is anxious like this, he starts doing and saying strange things and wrong things – how much gold, how much livestock, mangalsutra, does any PM speak like this? Mutton, chicken, what is this?… Being a Prime Minister, you are instigating people. That’s why people have understood him and he will definitely come down and he has to hand over the reins of the government to INDIA.”
He said he respected the Election Commission but called for transparency around turnout figures.
He also dismissed Modi’s allegation that an INDIA bloc administration will be unstable. “A united Opposition will give you a stable government that will rule for 10 years. We have the example of 2004 to 2014.”
“INDIA Ahead After 5 Phases, BJP Facing Defeat”
Congress chief Kharge has backed the INDIA bloc to come up trumps against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, arguing that mega wins in the 2014 and 2019 polls – in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party scored 282 and 303 seats on its own, and 336 and 353 with allies – meant it had reached a saturation point in terms of votes it might win.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Kharge said the BJP’s failure to fulfil promises made over the previous two terms (10 years) would also count against it, and highlighted issues like unemployment and the cost of living crisis to make his point – that it is necessary to remove the BJP government to “strengthen democracy and save the Constitution”.
“Even after five phases (the 2024 election is spread across seven phases, with the fifth completed on Monday and the sixth scheduled for Saturday) the INDIA bloc is ahead. This is because Modiji did not fulfil promises he made… the people waited for 10 years…”
“But today they are facing inflation on a large scale and are worried. Young children, troubled by unemployment, are wandering on the streets,” Mr Kharge told NDTV.
Formed in June last year, the INDIA bloc was expected to unite the opposition and mount a concerted challenge to Mr Modi and the BJP. The group – which includes the AAP, Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, the Samajwadi Party, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction as members – has fielded common candidates in a majority of the seats in this election.
Source: HT and NDTV