Lok Sabha elections are going on across the country. All political parties are campaigning vigorously. Given the elections, there is a constant stir in the political corridors. On one hand, the BJP is raising slogans of crossing 400. On the other hand, questions are being raised on the face of the Prime Minister in the Indi alliance. However, now the leader of the oldest party has made it clear that if the opposition alliance wins, then who will become the PM and how much time will it take to decide this?
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said during an interview on Thursday that the Indi alliance will get a decisive mandate in the Lok Sabha elections and it will take less than 48 hours to decide the candidate for the post of Prime Minister. He said that it is true that the party which gets maximum seats in the alliance will be the natural contender for the leadership.
Will get the required seats for a majority
On the last day of campaigning for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, the Congress General Secretary claimed that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (IND) will get more than 272 seats required for a majority in the lower house. He also said that when the India Janabandhan Party gets the mandate, then some NDA parties will express their desire to join the alliance. However, at that time the Congress high command will have to decide whether to include them in the alliance or not.
Nitish Kumar is a master of flip-flops
When asked whether the doors will be open for NDA allies like JDU chief Nitish Kumar and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu after the elections, the Congress leader said, "Nitish Kumar is a master of flip-flops. Naidu was with the Congress in the alliance in 2019. I would say that when India Janabandhan Party gets the mandate, then not only India parties but also some NDA parties can join the alliance."
He said, "Congress high command Kharge, Rahul, and Sonia will have to decide whether to include them in the India block or not."
Difference between humanity and honesty
Ramesh said that there is a difference of two 'I's' between India and NDA. That is humanity and honesty. Those parties that have integrity and humanity but are part of the NDA will join the India Block parties. He further said that the India Block government formed after getting the mandate will be 'authoritarian' and not 'autocratic'.
He said, 'I think we will win a large number of hearts. No politics of revenge, no politics of retribution. Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to the famous Vivekananda Rock Memorial and will meditate for two days. The same Vivekananda Memorial from where Rahul Gandhi started the Bharat Jodo Yatra on September 7, 2022. I am sure he (Modi) will be going to meditate on how life is going to be after retirement.'
Will get a decisive majority
When asked about his assessment of the ground political situation after six phases of polling, Ramesh said, 'I do not want to go into numbers but I am simply saying that we (India Block) will get a clear and decisive majority. 273 is a clear majority but it is not decisive. When I say clear and decisive, I mean above 272 seats.'
He claimed that the result of 2004 when the Congress won the election to form a coalition government despite the BJP's 'India Shining' campaign, will repeat itself in 2024. The Congress leader also claimed that the Congress will make good gains in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
He said, 'We will improve our position in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. Overall, we are moving towards a 2004-like situation. Congress will also benefit in Uttar Pradesh and the BJP cannot improve its 2019 figure of 62. Apart from this, the BJP will not be able to show much influence in Bihar and Bengal either.'
Meeting on June 1?
When asked about the June 1 meeting of India Block allies, Ramesh said that he did not have any such information, but the leaders of the India Block will meet.
He said, 'In 2004, the election results came on May 13 and the UPA was formed on May 16. Dr. Manmohan Singh's name as the Prime Minister came out on May 17. It took less than three days for Dr. Singh's name to come out, although everyone knew that Dr. Singh was going to be the PM because Sonia Gandhi had made her intentions clear of not accepting the Prime Minister's post, which was a big sacrifice on her part.'
He said, 'But this time I don't think it will take even 48 hours to select the PM. The leader of the Janbandhan will be chosen within a few hours. This means that the party that gets the maximum number of seats in the 'Janbandhan' will be a natural contender for the leadership of the Janbandhan.'
When asked whether the Congress is likely to be the party winning the maximum number of seats in the India Block, Ramesh said, 'You can interpret my statement in any way, but the fact is that all the parties in the Janbandhan are going to participate in the government. This means that the party which has the maximum number of seats is going to lead that Janbandhan in the Parliament.'
When asked whether it will be easy to build a consensus on the selection of the Prime Minister amid the presence of stalwarts like Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, and Mamata Banerjee in this faction, the Congress leader said that the slogan of the alliance is 'not me but us, not mine but ours'.
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