Modi remains confident of 400-plus seats for NDA, big BJP score in South
Modi says a “myth” has been spread over the years that the BJP is urban-centric, male-centric, north-centric and a “Baniya-Brahmin” party
Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains unwaveringly confident that the BJP-led NDA will bag more than 400 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and the saffron will emerge as the single largest party in the South.
In an interview to news agency PTI, Modi asserted on Sunday (May 19), “Our strategy for the entire nation is the same. Phir ek baar Modi sarkar. Aur chaar June 400 paar (Modi government once again. And 400-plus on June 4).”
Weak BJP in South a “myth”: Modi
Modi said his opponents have created a “myth” that the BJP has no strength or presence in the southern states. “Look at the 2019 elections. Even then, the largest party in the South was BJP. Again, I say this: the largest party in the South this time will be the BJP, and its allies will add more (seats) to it,” he added.
“We will be the single largest party in South India and by an even bigger margin than the last time. We have seen a jump in mind-share already. We will see a big jump in seat share and vote share for us across the region,” Modi claimed.
Southern India accounts for 131 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. In the outgoing House, BJP has 29 members besides one Independent backed by it, from Karnataka.
Modi claims surge in East too
He claimed the BJP was “witnessing a massive surge of support from the people” even in Eastern India. According to Modi, it is “giving sleepless nights to people in sections of the media and politics in Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and even in Delhi”.
Recalling how, a few years ago, he had delved into development-deficit in Eastern India in great detail using a presentation, Modi said the NDA government was specifically working to empower this region. As a result, in the last decade, the region has seen the difference that a BJP government, an NDA government can make, he added.
“The so-called ‘red corridor’ will become a ‘saffron corridor’ in these elections,” he said. The prime minister said all assessments of the past phases of the elections show that the NDA is in “pole position” and the Congress, along with its INDIA bloc partners, is struggling to even open its account in some states.
“The blessings of the people will take us to a record-breaking mandate. We will see more seats from all parts of the country, particularly from the South and the East,” he added.
NDA on way to 400 seats: PM
“NDA is on course to achieve 400 seats,” Modi said. He added that the BJP has been “truly a national party from Day 1, not only in our geographical presence but also in our ideology”. “For us, ‘nation first’ is the foundation of our ideology. If we take decisions for Bengal or Kerala, it will be on the basis of nation first,” he said.
Asked about the national results, he said: “We have set out to cross 400. After four phases of elections, I can say with confidence that our estimate was correct, and more than our estimate, the determination of the people (Janata Janardhan) was stronger.”
The prime minister said the narrative about BJP’s weakness in the South is part of a campaign that has painted the party variously as urban-centric, male-centric, north-centric and a “Baniya-Brahmin” party. “A myth has been spread. There is an ecosystem in our nation for years that creates all kinds of myths, to mislead the nation and to destroy the nation,” he added.
“It was also said that we are a Baniya-Brahmin party. But the largest number of Dalit, OBC, and tribal MP/MLAs are from BJP. They do this deliberately, and a similar myth has been spread that we are not present in the South.”
(With agency inputs)
