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Congress Hopes To Dent Narendra Modi’s Chances Of A Second Term
Swarajya Staff
Feb 07, 2018, 10:59 AM | Updated 10:59 AM IST
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The Congress party is hoping to make it big in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and even spoil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bid for a second term, according to a report in the Times of India.
The party led by Rahul Gandhi believes it can make substantial gains in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, besides strengthening its position in Punjab.
A top party leader said Congress could take away 60 seats from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which would make it difficult for Modi to retain the Prime Ministership, as he theorised that the Prime Minister was not temperamentally suited to working with allies, as was evident from the discomfort of regional parties in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The Congress leader speculates two possible outcomes to the next Lok Sabha elections, either a government led by the Congress or one by BJP but without Modi as the Prime Minister as he would not be acceptable to likely allies, present or future. He bases his surmise on the unease of parties like Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Party and Akali Dal.
The view in Congress circles is that the BJP and Modi might well be restricted to a tally of 220 seats, considerably short of the 282 the party won in 2014. Modi was not suited to alliance building and a leader like Rajnath Singh might be better equipped for coalitions, the Congress leader said in an informal interaction.
With Congress’ recent bypoll wins, the main opposition has bounced back with confidence, and according to the leader, looking like a cohesive unit with state leaders acting in concert, more than before.
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