24 February,2024 11:14 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shashi Tharoor. File Pic
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said it would be difficult for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to repeat its electoral performance of 2019 as it has already peaked in many states, and there would be only a "downward slide" in the coming Lok Sabha elections 2024, reported news agency PTI.
The 'complacency' of the BJP is the opposition's strength, he claimed.
Tharoor was speaking at ABP Network's Ideas of India' Summit 3.0 on 'Collaborative Federalism: View of the States'.
Participating in the session, BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said the target for his party in the coming Lok Sabha elections 2024 was 370 seats.
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"They seem to think it is already a done deal and it isn't," Tharoor said, adding that there was a great deal of skepticism about whether the BJP would be able to come anywhere close to what it was projecting, reported PTI.
"They peaked in 2019. We are going to see nothing but a downward slide. How much downhill that is going to be depends on how effective the opposition campaign is, which is just picking up," the Congress leader said, reported PTI.
In 2019, the BJP did "too well" across the Hindi heartland where it is strong, he said, noting that it won every seat in Haryana, Rajasthan, all but one seat in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, and a large number of seats in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar, reported PTI.
The saffron party's tally in the Lok Sabha rose to 303 in 2019.
"All of this is not going to happen this time because it is impossible for them to repeat those numbers," Tharoor claimed, reported PTI.
The percentage of the BJP's votes may rise, but even if there is enthusiasm after the Ram Mandir consecration in Ayodhya, there are no more seats left to win in any of these places, and the story will vary from state to state, he said.
Meanwhile, rhere is no disagreement in the Maha Vikas Aghadi over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said on Friday.
Discussions between the Congress, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar are underway and a final decision on the seats will be announced soon, Patole told reporters.
(With inputs from PTI)
