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Shah: BJP will emerge as single largest party in south after polls
Shah said that this Lok Sabha elections is a fight between an alliance of corrupt parties that had indulged in ₹12 lakh crore scams and the Modi alliance which had no tag of even 25 paise corruption
Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will emerge as the single largest party across southern India by winning a considerable number of seats in the current Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad, Shah said: “On the day of results, the BJP will emerge as the single largest party in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala...We are going to win more than 10 seats in Telangana, as the party is in a very comfortable position in 13 seats.”
“In Andhra Pradesh as well, the NDA is going to sweep the polls. The BJP is going to win a good number of seats in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well,” he pointed out.
He further said that the NDA secured about 200 seats in the first three phases of Lok Sabha elections. “We shall get the maximum number of seats in the fourth phase as well and we shall be reaching our target of 400 paar,” he said.
Taking a hit at the Indi Alliance, the senior BJP leader said that this elections is a fight between an alliance of corrupt parties that had indulged in ₹12 lakh crore scams and the Modi alliance which had no tag of even 25 paise corruption. “It is a fight between INDI Alliance which is power hungry and the Modi alliance which celebrates Diwali amidst soldiers of the Indian Army which has not taken a holiday for the last 23 years,” he said.
Shah said that there was no reason for the Opposition to rejoice when Modi turns 75 years old.
“I will like to tell Arvind Kejriwal and company and the whole Indi Alliance, that there is no need for you to feel happy when Modi turns 75... Modi will complete the term and will continue to lead the country... There is no confusion in the BJP on this,” he said.
His remarks came hours after Kejriwal, who was released on interim bail by the Supreme Court on Friday, said that Modi was seeking votes for Shah as he himself was due to retire from active politics next year.
“These [BJP] people ask INDIA bloc about our (PM) face. I ask BJP, who will be their PM? Modi ji is turning 75 next year. He had made the rule that people aged 75 will be retired…He (Modi) will retire next year. He is seeking votes to make Amit Shah the Prime Minister. Will Shah fulfill Modiji’s guarantee?” he said.
Shah, however, dismissed the statement and said: “It is not written anywhere in the BJP’s constitution [that a person will retire after the age of 75].”
Mounting an attack on Kejriwal, defence minister Rajnath Singh said the Opposition bloc and its members were rattled because of their impending defeat.
“The entire NDA alliance, including the BJP, is fighting this Lok Sabha election under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he will become the prime minister for the third time and complete his term. There is no doubt about this neither within the BJP nor within the NDA nor in the minds of the countrymen,” he posted on X.
The Union home minister also accused the Congress for trying to divide the country on north-south lines.
“They have already partitioned India. They cannot do anything else than dividing the country,” he criticised.
