LUCKNOW: Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the political developments in Bihar will have "zero" impact on the 2024 general elections in Uttar Pradesh and exuded confidence that the BJP will wrest Congress and SP bastions.
He also dismissed the possibility of an opposition alliance posing a challenge to the BJP, saying such efforts in the past have yielded no result.
Targeting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his "vishwasghat" (betrayal) with the BJP, Maurya said that by joining hands with the RJD and the Congress in Bihar, he has positioned himself in a difficult situation.
JD(U) leader Kumar took oath as Bihar chief minister for a record eighth time on August 10, a day after snapping ties with the BJP-led NDA and joining hands with the RJD to form a 'Mahagathbandhan' government.
This was the second time in eight years that Kumar split with the BJP.
The political developments in Bihar will have "zero impact" on the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Maurya told PTI in an interview.
"UP and Bihar share the border and a number of times, when there was no alliance (of the JDU) with the BJP (in UP). Nitish ji used all his might and fielded some candidates but they forfeited their deposits," he said.
Asked about the challenge from a proposed opposition front to counter the BJP, Maurya said, "It happened in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when SP, BSP, RLD and Congress came together against BJP.
"In the 2022 state polls, they contested separately but there was a tacit understanding between them. Despite that, the BJP emerged victorious and formed the government."
He, however, acknowledged that the Congress could put up a fight against the BJP in the 2024 general elections.
"Whatever little challenge the BJP will face across the country in 2024, it will be from the Congress," he said.
Maurya asserted the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress will lose their strongholds in the 2024 elections.
"Mark my words, be it Kannauj, Azamgarh, Rampur or Mainpuri, the SP will be unable to open its account in the state this time," he said.
"I am not making any tall claims. We are assuming that they will fight together. Even if they go it alone, they will have tacit understanding and unity because their aim is to stop the BJP and Narendra Modi (from coming to power)."
"They know that if Modi comes to power, then the country will be run honestly and their politics will come to an end," he said.
He claimed that the BJP will also win the Rae Bareli constituency, which is currently held by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Rae Bareli is the lone Lok Sabha seat held by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.
The party failed to win either of the five assembly seats under the constituency in the 2022 state polls.
In the June Lok Sabha bypolls, the BJP breached SP bastions Azamgarh and Rampur, delivering a blow to the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.
Buoyed by the BJP's good showing in the bypolls, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had claimed the BJP would win all 80 Parliamentary seats in the state.
On Kumar splitting with the BJP in Bihar, Maurya said it was a "betrayal" of the people's mandate.
"I am of the view that Nitish Kumar ji has done a 'vishwasghat' with the BJP and people's mandate," he said, adding that the public punishes such leaders. Using a Hindi proverb, he said that by disassociating himself from the BJP, Kumar has put himself between a "gorge" called Congress and a "well" called RJD.
Asked about Kumar being seen as the Opposition's prime ministerial in the 2024 general elections, the BJP leader said, "Ever since Nitish ji has entered politics, he has never been able to become a chief minister without crutches.
"How can a person who cannot win the state elections without support win the national elections? As far as him replacing Narendra Modi ji is concerned, though I have heard his statements denying any such plan, we feel that he is seeing 'Mungerilal ke sapne'," Maurya said.
He said 2024 belongs to Modi and the BJP.