Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the BJP-led NDA will win all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The NDA had won 39 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The PM was speaking in an exclusive interview to News18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, News18 Kannada Editor, Hariprasad, and News18 Lokmat Anchor Vilas Bade.
Speaking about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joining the NDA once again, the PM said, “First, we fought the assembly elections together. Later, they went somewhere and then came back. So, we are together as per the mandate of the people. As far as public support is concerned, I was in Bihar just recently, and I can see it clearly. Even when there is no tent overhead or anything in this heat, still lakhs of people are connected to us. Earlier, we used to lose one odd seat in Bihar, but this time may be we will not lose even one.”
‘Clean sweep in Bengal’
PM Modi also said he expected “a clean sweep” in West Bengal. In 2019, the BJP had won 18 of the 42 seats in the state. Earlier, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said the BJP will win 36 seats in this general election. “There is a section that is not willing to accept the mandate of the country. It’s a reality – the people of the country are supporting us. You thought that it wouldn’t happen. It’s your fault. I was in Malda recently. I was surprised; the atmosphere was electrifying. People believe that there is a strong and stable government at the Centre, and that Bengal too should benefit from it. Women are facing atrocities in the TMC rule,” said the PM.
According to PM Modi, “the events of Sandeshkhali have jolted the nation”. “People have the right to vote, and they will vent their anger in the process. So, the outburst is natural. You have seen the piles of banknotes seized. Have you ever seen such big stashes of money getting caught earlier? The nation is shocked. No matter how much you try to hide it, the nation now understands that these people are looters,” he told News18.
‘Forced to field family members in UP’
The PM described SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Rahul Gandhi fielding family members in Uttar Pradesh as “compulsion”.
“They are forced to field family members. It is their compulsion. That’s their main character. They don’t have anything else. To fight for family members and to make family members fight in elections: that’s the game,” said PM Modi.
He also said that Gandhi and Yadav have been in alliance before but “people of Uttar Pradesh understand what is good for them”. The PM said he had earlier mentioned in Parliament that big leaders are now withdrawing from the Lok Sabha race and trying to take the Rajya Sabha route. “Big leaders are not ready to fight the elections. But we are working responsibly, taking everyone along and performing our duties. And I think nothing will be left of them this time around. Nothing,” said PM Modi.
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