"What will exit polls do in country where king is astrologer, dictator": Rakesh Tikait
Jun 02, 2024
Baghpat (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 3 : Dismissing the predictions of exit poll results which show a favourable outcome for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesperson Rakesh Tikait took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government saying that these exit polls are not going to counter the "king" who is an "astrologer" as well as a "dictator."
In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tikait while speaking to reporters on Sunday said, "We have already said that in a country where the king is an astrologer and a dictator, what will the exit polls do? Who is going to counter whatever the king says?"
The farmer leader said that if the NDA has set a target of more than 400 seats, it shows that the "planning" for it was already done.
"If they were already claiming to win more than 400 seats, it means that the planning was already done," Tikait said.
Questioning the Electronic Voting Machines, Tikait said that everything is decided in advance which machine has to go at which place.
"I do not understand...where are EVM machines kept? Before the election, they are repaired. Cells and batteries are put in. Whatever alterations are done, everything is done from there. Which machine has to go where and what is the situation at that place is predecided," the farmer leader said.
Speaking about the issues that the BKU intends to raise, Tikait said, "Whoever forms the government, we have issues like loan waiver, Swaminathan Committee report, MSP guarantee law. These days, if you take the issue of the environment, temperatures are soaring. The government is not concerned with this. No matter how much the heat increases the government will cut forests."
The BKU leader said that they would be countering any government that came to power if they made any wrong decision.
"We want trees to be planted, forests should be saved, we will fight for tribals. We will fight for various issues in every state, no matter who is in power. We will fight on issues at the state and central levels. We do not have any problem with who is in government but their wrong policies. We do not have any issue with any political party. Whoever forms the government, if they make wrong decisions we will counter them through agitations," Tikait said.
The voting for the 543-member Lok Sabha was held simultaneously with the Assembly elections in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. While the long drawn-out voting process spread over seven phases concluded on Saturday, the counting of votes is scheduled for June 4.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is poised for a hat-trick win in Lok Sabha polls with a massive majority, exit polls predicted on Saturday and indicated that the ruling party at the Centre would improve its performance in several states ruled by other parties.
A few exit polls predicted that the BJP-led NDA could reach the goal of "400 paar" stated by BJP leaders in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats. Two polls predicted the BJP also improving its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The Narendra Modi-led BJP is seeking a third term in power, while the opposition INDIA bloc is aiming to wrest power by stopping the juggernaut.