Lok Sabha elections 2024: ‘Smart voters, look what happened to Indira Gandhi’: Sam Pitroda

Sam Pitroda is the President of the Indian Overseas Congress.

Chicago:

Sam Pitroda, chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress Party, expressed confidence that the Congress Party and the Indian Group will do well in the Lok Sabha elections and said that Indian voters are often surprised.

“Let us wait for two months and we will know (the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls). There is no need to predict what will happen now. Indian voters tend to surprise people. Look what happened to Mrs. (Indira) Gandhi , when she declared an emergency. She was kicked out and then put back in, so don’t underestimate the wisdom of the Indian electorate,” Mr. Pitroda told ANI.

“If Indian voters feel that they want to live in a democracy, they want to live in a non-authoritarian environment, they want institutions to work, they want freedom, flexibility, they want to practice their preferred religion, They want to do that and they want to create jobs, they want to control inflation so they will vote accordingly rather than having faith in the pollsters,” he added.

He was responding to a question about the challenges faced by the Congress, especially in north India.

Pitroda, a former adviser to then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and considered close to the Nehru-Gandhi family, said the Congress leaders were trying to lay a strong foundation in the Lok Sabha polls.

“I would say the Indian Union is doing quite well. Mr. Khargage, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and many others in the Congress party are working hard,” he said.

Mr Pitroda said the Congress declaration released earlier this month was “a perfect declaration” for the people of the country.

“Look at the quality of the manifesto. Under the leadership of P Chidambaram, the manifesto was prepared. I think it is a good manifesto but some people say it is not a good manifesto, it is a communist manifesto. It depends Their thoughts. “I don’t think it’s a communist manifesto, it’s the right values ​​that the Congress stands for and it’s a perfect manifesto for the people of India. “

Mr. Pitroda is a technocrat who served as Chairman of the Telecommunications Commission and headed the National Knowledge Commission of India (2005-2009).

The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases starting from April 19. Counting is scheduled for June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)