"It will be Rahul Gandhi vs PM Modi in 2024 polls," says Karnataka BJP leader
Dec 28, 2023
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 28 : Former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and BJP leader CN Ashwath Narayan said on Thursday that the contest in 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Narayan, after attending the Karnataka BJP leaders meeting held on Thursday to chalk out strategy for the Lok Sabha elections, said while speaking to ANI, "The people of Karnataka want Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister once again with no second thoughts..."
"It will be a comparison between Narendra Modi ji and Rahul Gandhi ji. Imagine when they (voters) look up to Narendra Modi and think of voting for Rahul Gandhi ji. No chance. So its Narendra Modi ji vs Rahul Gandhi," the BJP leader added.
"Ninety percent of people will prefer Narendra Modi. They will reject Rahul. We are very sure we are going to win these elections, he said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president BY Vijayendra held a meeting with senior leaders of the party in Bengaluru on Thursday ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Former Chief Ministers BS Yeddyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai and senior leaders including KS Eshwarappa and Ashwath Narayan attended the meeting.
According to party sources, the BJP leaders held a discussion outlining the essential tasks ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It was a strategic session to unite the BJP's top brass to strategize on the political road ahead, they pointed out.
The BJP suffered a major electoral defeat this year in the Karnataka assembly elections, thereby losing the only state the party ruled in south India. The Congress bagged 135 out of 224 seats in the state legislative assembly with a 43.2 percent vote share. The BJP was reduced to 66 seats with a vote share of 36.3 per cent.
The BJP was, however, quick to tie up with the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to take advantage of the regional party's Vokkaliga vote bank. The JDS, which had traditionally played the role of a 'king-maker' in Karnataka assembly polls, did not factor much in the state elections this year owing to the Congress' stellar performance.
In 2019, the BJP won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats. The JD(S) and the Congress, who were allies back then, won one seat each.
