The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is confident of not only reaching the previous election mark of 282 seats in the General Elections but is in a position to get “not anything below 300 mark” by doing well in the the south too, contrary to the popular notion, said general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao on Tuesday.However, he did not want to say anything about the number of seats the party is likely to win in the Telugu States of Telangana or Andhra Pradesh. “We have a potential to do well in TS but actual number of seats we might win will be revealed later,” he said, in an informal interaction with the media along with party spokesperson Krishna Sagar Rao. Claiming that the Congress Party is continuously declining across the country and especially in TS, he observed that the people are more inclined towards voting for a “stable government which only the BJP could provide” rather than an “unstable coalition” by the Opposition at the Centre.
“We have all our NDA allies with us including the Akalis, Shiva Sena, Asom Gana Prarishad — though there were some issues with the national citizenship register. We have also forged an alliance for the first time in Tamil Nadu with AIADMK and allied parties. We are going to do well in Kerala and Karnataka too,” he affirmed. Mr. Rao’s contention is that the BJP has not only retained the traditional vote base among the middle class but has also made inroads in other sections like farmers because of the Narendra Modi government’s welfare and development schemes, apart from taking strong steps to strengthen the country’s security.
“A blend of development, welfare, security, stability and nationalism with no issues of corruption is the fundamental base of our government,” he said. The party is keenly awaiting Congress and Rahul Gandhi’s reaction to the abrogation of Article 370, having separate PM and flag for Kashmir and related issues.
With regard to Telangana, Mr. Rao confessed it is going to be a “difficult battle” because of the ‘disadvantage’ of having lost in the last Assembly elections. Yet, BJP is positioned to become an alternative to TRS because of the Congress Party’s position. He remained silent on AP situation and did not take the bait when asked if TRS and YSRCP are potential allies, stating that NDA already has sufficient allies.
“You cannot have India without Muslims, Christians, Jains and others. The BJP has never subscribed to the theory ideologically or politically of the country without them. It is anti-national to think in that manner,” he retorted to a question of having a national population register and Muslims being targeted.
