The election to 428 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats is over in the five phases held so far. The remaining two phases will be held on May 25 and June 1. The counting votes for all seven phase of general elections 2024 will be held on June 4.
Congress leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor predicted that his party’s confidence has gone up in the run up to the last two phases of elections.
“I would say with some confidence that I am looking at the overall picture in the country with a great deal of self belief. The reason for this is both in common sense and the trends we have seeing in the country in the course of the first few phases,” Tharoor, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said speaking with media in New Delhi on May 22. All seven seats of Delhi will vote in the sixth phase of polling on May 25.
Also Read: ‘310 paar already’: Amit Shah urges people to help PM Modi win over 400 Lok Sabha seats
“When I say common sense, it was already very clear when BJP started talking about ‘Abki Baar 400 Paar’ that this was a complete fantasy. Last time in 2019 (Lok Sabha Elections), thanks to the tragedy in Pulwama and the response in Balakot and the conversion of the election from what should have been a referendum on the economic failures of the first term of Mr Modi, it became, instead, a national security election in 2019 and as a result, they (BJP) maxed out in a number of states,” Tharoor said analysing the BJP’s win in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The saffron party won 303 seats on its won while the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), that the BJP leads, bagged 353 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections. The Congress won just 52 seats.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance(NDA), seeking a record third term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has set a target of winning 400 seats this election. The ruling alliance is challenged by the opposition parties led by the Congress under the banner of the INDIA bloc.
Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah claimed on May 21 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already won 310 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats by the end of Phase 5 Lok Sabha elections.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Can Rajeev Chandrasekhar beat 3-time winner Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram?
“You know in 6 states, they won every single seat. In 3 states, they won all but one seat and in two states they won all but two seats. And the Congress was certainly given a resounding defeat in 2019. Now, in all those 11 states those results are impossible to replicate. And we are already seeing this very clearly after the first two phases….The strongholds of BJP have shows minimal turnout and significant drop in voting figures,” said Tharoor who is seeking a fourth term from Thiruvananthapuram in 2024 elections.
Tharoor, who is campaigning in Delhi and is headed to Gurugram next, said where the Congress candidates, and the INDIA bloc candidates were doing well even in BJP-bastion states like Gujarat.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Polls 2024 Phase 3 voting today: How can BJP+ achieve 400-seat target? Top pollster Pradeep Gupta explains
“After the Kerala voted on April 26, two weeks have gone by. And what we are picking is the confirmation of this trend. In places like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and even in Uttar Pradesh, we are doing significantly better than last time… Even from a few places in Gujarat, it is not good news for the government. Our atma vishwas (confidence) has gone up. We are in a positive trajectory going into the last two phases…” Tharoor said.
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Published: 22 May 2024, 12:46 PM IST