Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted that the United India Rally which was led by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had a two-fold strategy- negative anti-Modi agenda and combine as many political groups together so as to take the best advantage of the electoral arithmetic.
"Every General Election has its own script. The script is dictated by the prevailing political environment in the country. The nature of the political battle for 2019 is unfolding itself. India's opposition has a two-fold strategy, firstly, negative anti-Modi agenda and secondly, to combine as many political groups together so as to take the best advantage of the electoral arithmetic," Jaitley wrote in his blog.
Hitting out at the TMC's rally in Kolkata, he alleged that negativism was the flavour.
"The Kolkata rally organised by Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee was significant. On the surface, it was an anti-Modi rally. It indeed was. More significantly it was also a non-Rahul Gandhi rally. The opposition politics has thrown up four desirous Prime Ministers wishing to challenge Prime Minister Modi. Besides Mamata Banerjee, the other three - Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and KCR were significantly absent in Kolkata. 2/3rd of those on stage were those who in the past have worked with the BJP. Some octogenarians reached Kolkata to satisfy their late-life ambitions. There was not a single speech reflecting the positive idea which the leaders proposed for the future. Negativism was writ large in their approach. The strategy of each of the four contenders is clear," he said.
Furthermore, Jaitley claimed that people are satisfied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance and accused the opposition of being afraid of him.
"It is obvious that the level of satisfaction with Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi is very high. If that weren't so, where was the need for multiple disparate forces to come together against him? It is only the fear of his popularity and comeback that is bringing them together. The Prime Minister remains by far the most popular, decisive and dynamic leader of the present set of politicians. His integrity, emphasis on ethics, decisiveness, growth-oriented politics, has made aspirational India to accept him. He has singularly decimated all caste-based parties and dynastic political groups in 2014. The opposition is making Prime Minister Modi's continuation in office as a key political issue. We in BJP welcome this agenda being set by the opposition," he added.
Emphasising on the measures that the BJP and NDA needs to take for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the minister said, "The BJP and NDA have to be prepared for a battle for a 50% vote in the direct fight contest. Many states will still witness triangular contests. If a second term for Prime Minister Modi is the issue, it is advantage BJP. The election will be more presidential. If negativism is the political campaign in an aspirational nation, it won't work. If arithmetic is the only hope, the Modi chemistry can prevail over it. People are more intelligent than what many politicians think about them. They never choose chaos as an option. What has been presented by the opposition is a post-election leadership battle, no common programme, no policy and a disastrous memory of their administrative disabilities. Experimented, tried and failed ideas only scare voters. They convey no appeal. People want a Five Year Government, not a six month one.
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