Expressing confidence that the BJP will better its 2014 tally, its president Amit Shah has predicted that the saffron party will win over 55 new seats in the Lok Sabha elections, propelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal and popular support to its national security plank.
Shah also scoffed at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for their criticism of Modi for attacking their father late Rajiv Gandhi, asserting that "they cannot run away from their past however much they try".
In an interview to PTI, Shah, who is at the ruling party's helm since 2014, talked about various aspects of the high-stakes elections, where a fragmented opposition is taking on the BJP-led NDA, which hopes to retain power, riding on its nationalism and development planks.
The BJP had swept to its maiden majority in 2014 by winning unprecedented 282 of 543 Lok Sabha seats.
Asserting that the BJP will get a majority on its own, 54-year-old Shah said his work over the last five years to expand the party's base across coastal and eastern states, where it has been traditionally weak, will bear fruits in these polls.
Also Read
The party will win more than 23 seats in West Bengal and 13-15 seats in Odisha, he added. The BJP had won two and one seat in these two states respectively in 2014.
After taking over as BJP chief, Shah had also identified 120 seats spread across the country as potentially winnable. The party had lost them in 2014.
"The BJP will win more than 55 of those constituencies," he added.
Asked if the BJP will be able to repeat 2014 feat when it had swept north and west India, he said some seats may go this way or that way but his party will get more than 282 seats.
Noting that he has covered more than 300 Lok Sabha seats during his campaign since January this year, Shah said his party has succeeded in enhancing its support base in regions where it had not done well in earlier elections.
With top Congress leaders slamming Modi for his sharp attack on Rajiv Gandhi, Shah asked "why he or Jawaharlal Nehru cannot be criticised simply because they are from the Gandhi family?"
"Did the Bofors scam not happen under him (Rajiv Gandhi)? Did the Bhopal gas tragedy accused not escape when he was in power? Why should there not be a debate over these issues? Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra cannot run away from their past however much they try," he said.
Modi had dubbed the late prime minister as "bhrashtachari no 1", drawing ire of several top Congress leaders as well as other opposition parties.
Accusing the Congress leadership of "double standards", Shah said it had used many "abusive" terms for Modi but is critical when Rajiv Gandhi is criticised.
"You are using all sorts of abuses for the current prime minister but do not want a former prime minister to be criticised. What kind of double standard this is. This cannot be acceptable in a democracy," he said.
The BJP president also mocked Rahul Gandhi over his claim that Modi should pack his bags, and said let May 23 come and "we will see who gets to pack his bags". The counting of votes for the seven-phase general elections, which will end on May 19, will be on May 23.
With national security being the central theme of the BJP's campaign, Shah said nationalism has been his party's inspiration since its inception.
He said that people were feeling safe and proud under Modi's leadership following surgical strikes and Balakot air strikes in Pakistan which, he added, has been waging proxy war against India since 1990 through terrorism but India was "a little soft" in dealing with it.
Asked how much the national security issue is helping the BJP in the polls, he said it is benefitting his party and added that it is for political pundits to evaluate its real impact.
"For the BJP, nationalism, national security are not a matter of electoral loss and win but an issue of belief," Shah said.
With five phases of the polls over, he reiterated his claim that the BJP will win more than 73 seats of the 80 in Uttar Pradesh it had won in 2014 along with its ally Apna Dal and not less.
Asked about the strong social arithmetic in the favour of Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance in the largest state, Shah shot back, "You people look at arithmetic. I look at people's sentiments and they are totally with Modi."
To a question if the BJP is looking at regional parties like TRS and BJD as potential allies after polls, Shah said they are welcome to join the National Democratic Alliance.
To a question as to what issue was resonating most among the public, he said issues may be different in different parts of the country but people everywhere are voting in the name of Modi.
Over 50 crore people believe that for the first time they have a prime minister who thinks about them, improved their lives and secured the country, he said.
For the first time in three decades, Shah said, price rise is not an issue in the opposition's campaign and that is a credit to the Modi government as it has kept inflation under control.
Despite the Congress win over his party in the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in December last year, Shah exuded confidence that the BJP will repeat its 2014 show when it had bagged 62 of 65 Lok Sabha seats in these states.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
