BJP's Tally Will Increase In Which States, PM Modi Reveals In HT Interview; Seven Highlights Here

Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the discourse going around the Lok Sabha elections 2024 in an interview with Hindustan Times. Here are seven highlights:

1. Increasing tally: Modi expressed hope that BJP's seats will increase in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

2. Countering Congress' agenda: Modi said, "If the Congress party’s agenda is to take away the reservation of SCs, STs and OBCs, and give it to their vote banks unconstitutionally, on the basis of religion, then it will have to be questioned. In such a situation, being silent would be incorrect."

3. On other party leaders joining BJP: Modi said this is because of "more and more people" seeing BJP's work and finding its ideology and mission appealing and hence he welcomes everyone who believes in BJP's vision.

4. Modi's next move: The PM said that he has already asked government departments to prepare a 100-day plan and the Sankalp Patra provides a roadmap of the next five years.

"We are also laying out the vision for Viksit Bharat by 2047, the foundation for which has already been built... Our third term will be an era of accelerated development at a scale never seen before," he added.

5. Third term: "The big theme of our third term is about imparting momentum across sectors towards the realisation" of a developed India by 2047, Modi said.

6. INDI Alliance vs BJP: "People are seeing that the INDI alliance has no common vision other than ‘Modi Hatao’. Day and night, they abuse each other in a way even opponents don’t. But they’re sharing a stage for opposing Modi," the PM said.

"In contrast, for the last 10 years, the nation saw the benefits of a strong and stable government. In a rapidly changing and challenging world, people know that India needs to be stable, secure and strong," Modi added.

7. On unemployment and inflation: "Where the UPA gave the public double-digit inflation, the NDA government controlled inflation despite the churn of the Covid pandemic," Modi said.

Claiming that there has been "large-scale employment generation", Modi said citing data, "Yearly PLFS data shows clearly that between 2017 and 2023, the number of workers increased by 56 per cent. At the same time, unemployment remained at a historic low of 3.2 per cent."