With the three phases of the Lok Sabha elections over and the fourth phase of elections set to take place in less than 24 hours, Union Minister Pugh, who is in charge of various matters including commerce and industry, railways, finance, consumer affairs, food and public distribution, said Piyush Goyal said: In an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is about to participate in the Mumbai North constituency polls, revealed its disapproval of the BJP government this time. Confidence that it will definitely exceed 400 seats.
Asked whether the BJP’s ‘Ab Ki Baar 400 Paar’ campaign is still going strong or is off track, Goyal said one can tell based on the reaction of people on the ground and how they respond to the issues. “Political leaders gauge the response you receive based on the response from the audience. What the response was during a speech, what the response was to a question,” he said.
He pointed out that the “objectionable” and “controversial” statements made by the “weak” opposition to deflect the issue, as well as the internal conflicts in India with the CPM and the Congress Party in Kerala, had exposed the Congress, The behavior of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and others. “They are friends of West Bengal, but the TMC and Congress are at loggerheads,” he said.
“They have no leader, no leadership, no policy, no intention for the country. How will they work amicably and sensitively? How will they work amicably and sensitively? In this context, Prime Minister Modi’s 10-year tenure and his Fifty years of impeccable public life inspired people to believe that only he could bring the country to the world stage.
When asked about the chances of the BJP in Kerala and Tamil Nadu this time, Goyal said the party would not only open an account in Kerala but also give it in terms of seats and vote share. Everyone was surprised. “There are two or three seats and we’re competing very strongly and I think we’re definitely going to win one,” he added.
The two confirmed seats are Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. The party has identified Attingal, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta as the constituencies with higher chances of winning.
He further said that the situation in Tamil Nadu is almost the same as that of Kerala. “We will definitely win two games and we are in a good position in four or five games,” Goyal said.
Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats and the K Annamalai-led BJP is targeting a double-digit vote and seat share in the state. The saffron party is contesting in 23 seats and is in alliance with several other regional parties.
The NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu has Pattali Makkal Katchi contesting from 10 seats, while the Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar) has been allotted three constituencies. Former chief minister O Panneerselvam is a member of the NDA but contested as an independent, while the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam led by TTV Dhinakaran bagged two seats. Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, Puthiya Needhi Katchi and Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazagam will contest for one seat each on the BJP flag.
Highlighting the situation in all the five southern states, including Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which have nearly 130 Lok Sabha constituencies, Goyal said, “If we look at the entire southern region, we used to have three or four Lok Sabha constituencies. The state presence is almost negligible. Today, we are the only party that has a presence in every state. Once we open an account in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, this time we will be in Andhra. Bang got good results and as you can see from the reaction in Vijayawada too, it was amazing.
“In Telangana, judging from the development of the situation, we are far ahead of the opposition parties and even the ruling party. In Karnataka, we have basically been able to maintain our position.”
Andhra Pradesh has 42 Lok Sabha seats while Karnataka has 28 seats.
Asked about the party’s chances in Karnataka, Goyal said it will be very different this time. “This is a national election. The national leader, the national government in people’s minds is elected. Everyone believes that those dark days of UPA were full of corruption; no matter what the Prime Minister does, ‘yuvraj’ will be there at the press conference Pick it up and shred it. New cases of corruption are revealed every day, every week. The Prime Minister was very helpless and said, “What can I do? These are the compulsions of coalition politics.” People don’t want a government like this anywhere in the country.
“So in the South, as Amit Shahji said, I hadn’t thought about this fully either, but when I did the math, I realized that no other party could come close to the seats that we have in all these states. Total – Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu”.
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