Debunking a myth about the BJP's weakened positioning in Southern India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party will sweep the states with an even bigger margin than last time in the ongoing general elections.
On Sunday, addressing a list of questions in an interview, PM Modi elaborated on a range of subjects including the party's positioning across the country and the NDA confidently securing more than 400 seats in the ongoing general elections. Speaking of the party's growing stronghold in the southern part of the country, PM Modi expressed confidence that the BJP will emerge as the single largest party in the states and that its NDA allies would only add more to the seat count.
"Look at the 2019 elections. The largest party even then in the South was the BJP. Again, I say this: the largest party in the south this time will be BJP, and its allies will add more (seats) to it," he said.
Further, likewise his assertion on southern India, for eastern India too, PM Modi maintained his stand. He said, “we are witnessing a massive surge of support from the people … which is giving sleepless nights to people in sections of the media and politics in Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, and even in Delhi.”
“The blessings of the people will take us to a record-breaking mandate. We will see more seats from all parts of the country, particularly from the south and the east," he added.
Moreover, during the interview, about the NDA being on course to achieve 400 seats, PM Modi remarked, “All assessments of the past phases of the elections show that the NDA is in pole position and the Congress along with its INDI alliance is struggling to even open its account in some states.”
Adding further, he said that the BJP has been a truly national party “from Day 1, not only in our geographical presence but also in our ideology.”
Meanwhile, PM Modi also elaborated on the narrative painted against the BJP as being urban-centric, male-centric, north-centric, and a “Baniya-Brahmin” party, PM Modi said, “A myth has been spread. There is an ecosystem in our nation for years that creates all kinds of myths, to mislead the nation and to destroy the nation.”
“It was also said that we are a Baniya-Brahmin party. But the largest number of Dalit, OBC, and tribal MP/MLAs are from BJP. They do this deliberately, and a similar myth has been spread that we are not present in the south,” he added.