Congress calls Prashant Kishore’s poll predictions ‘ridiculous, BJP-sponsored’

chennai:

Congress on Monday termed as “ridiculous” poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s latest prediction that the Bharatiya Janata Party could emerge “No. 1” in West Bengal and contest the upcoming Lok Sabha Significant gains in southern states in polls.

Congress leader Ajoy Kumar told New Delhi TV that Mr Kishore’s prediction was a “BJP-sponsored show”. Kishore recently said the BJP’s years of efforts to expand its influence in southern and eastern India could reap dividends this time.

“Prashant Kishor is an RSS man masquerading as a political analyst. You should call it a BJP-sponsored show,” Mr Kumar told New Delhi TV.

However, BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupati denied the allegation and said “whoever tells the truth will be called an RSS man”.

Mr Kumar also accused Mr Kishore of trying to destabilize the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government when he joined the Congress alliance, which he later abandoned after joining the BJP.

“The day Nitish joined the BJP alliance, he (Mr Kishore) stopped his travels,” Mr Kumar said.

‘There is no anti-incumbency in Tamil Nadu’

Tamil Nadu Congress chief Ajoy Kumar also claimed that there are no anti-incumbents in the state.

He also said that Prime Minister Modi’s frequent visits to Tamil Nadu would only strengthen the prospects of the ruling DMK alliance.

He said that no Prime Minister has lost credibility before the election like PM Modi.

“The BJP has reduced political discourse to street fights. The party only raises non-substantive issues,” Kumar told New Delhi TV.

He also claimed that the electoral bonds scheme is one of the most corrupt systems in the world. The Supreme Court in a February ruling struck down the electoral bonds scheme as “unconstitutional.”

On the issue of the Congress leadership not campaigning in Tamil Nadu as frequently as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said Rahul Gandhi will campaign in Coimbatore and Tiruta in Tamil Nadu on April 12 Nerveli campaign.

“Indian group will win all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry”

Talking about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Ajoy Kumar said that the opposition Indian bloc will win all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

He said they will make significant progress in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana and Karnataka.

The Congress leader also claimed that the BJP will win at least 150 seats less than what they won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The party won 303 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha in the last general election.

Mr Kumar also denied the BJP’s accusations of dynastic politics. “For 27 years, the Congress has not had a prime minister from the Gandhi family,” Mr Kumar said.

“Only the BJP has dynasties now, from Piyush Goyal to Anurag Thakur to (Devendra) Fadnavis to Jyotiraditya Scindia,” he added.