Ramdas Athawale challenges Rahul Gandhi, INDIA bloc to reveal how many seats they expect in LS polls
Apr 15, 2024
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], April 15 : Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale issued a challenge to the opposition on Monday, calling upon them to disclose how many seats they expect to win in the Lok Sabha elections.
In a direct challenge directed towards the INDI alliance and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Athawale challenged, stating, "I want to ask the INDI alliance how many seats they will get. We have claimed 400 seats, so they should announce how many seats they can win. I also challenge Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party to reveal how many seats they expect to win."
Athawale expressed optimism about securing victory in the Lok Sabha election, citing the party's momentum and achievements over the past five years.
"I believe that PM Modi and the NDA are confident of winning over 400 seats, but the INDI alliance lacks confidence in their seat count. In the 2019 elections, the BJP won 303 seats, while the INDI alliance secured less than 300 seats. We have confidence because of the decisions made in the past five years, whether it's about passing the Women's Reservation Bill, revoking Article 370 or many other such decisions. We believe that achieving 400 seats will not be difficult for us," Athawale said.
Athawale also showed confidence in regions traditionally less favourable to the BJP, including Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
"There are also chances of winning seats from Tamil Nadu this time. We've formed an alliance with Chandrababu Naidu, so there's a chance of winning seats from there too. In Telangana, we won 4 seats last time, but this time, there are chances of winning 8 or 9 seats for the BJP. Similarly, the BJP's prospects are improving in South India, so achieving 400 seats won't be difficult for us," Athawale said.
He said as if singing a song, "Congress party to nahi karegi 40 par Lekin ham( BjP) karenge 400 paar, or agar ham karenge 400 par to Congress party ki hone vali ha haar (Congress will not cross 40 but BJP will cross 400. And if BJP crosses 400, then the Congress will be defeated)."
Rajasthan will go to the polls in two phases, on April 19 and April 26. Polling for 12 Lok Sabha seats will be held in the first phase on April 19, while the remaining 13 seats will be polled in the second phase on April 26.
The counting of votes for all 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country is scheduled for June 4.
