VISAKHAPATNAM: BJP national general secretary P Muralidhara Rao on Wednesday said the party could not project itself as an alternative in the State. During in an informal chat with mediapersons here, Rao said the party could have made inroads in the State in view of anti-incumbency factor. He said Telangana was, however, a natural potential State for the BJP in the entire south. He hoped the party would emerge as a strong force in future.
He said the Modi factor has gained more acceptance with passing of each phase of elections and the party would cross the magic figure comfortably. Ruling out the possibility of a hung Lok Sabha, Rao said the verdict will be in favour of the BJP. He said the Modi factor was at its peak in Karnataka and the party would win at least 20 to 22 seats.
He said NaMo factor along with Balakot incident has propelled the party’s prospects in Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, and other Hindi belt States. Referring to Rajasthan where the party lost Assembly elections by 0.5 per cent vote margin, he said the BJP is poised to win 22 to 23 seats out of 25. In Tamil Nadu, before the alliance was formed, most surveys predicted 33 to 35 seats for DMK-Congress combine. But now the combine will win only 17 to 20 seats.
Referring to Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into Congress, Rao said her political entry was ill-timed and even Priyanka herself admitted that she should have started campaigning a little bit early.In Delhi, the party will make a clean sweep by winning all seven seats. In Kerala, the party will romp home in Thiruvananthapuram and was strong in four more constituencies, he said.
He ruled out any need for a post-poll alliance. Rao said there was no alternative to Narendra Modi across the country and Opposition parties could not challenge his leadership. He said even floating voters, who were undecided till last minute, voted for Modi in large numbers and this tilted the scale in favour of the BJP in several constituencies.
West Bengal BJP will emerge as a strong political party and the State will witness bipolar elections in future. The BJP will improve its performance in eastern belt, including West Bengal and Odisha.
He said in the present elections, there was no negative vote against Modi government since there were hardly any corruption charges against it.