PM Modi spoke exclusively to NDTV (File).
In an exclusive interview with NDTV on Sunday Prime Minister Narendra Modi predicted a "historic" win for his BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and made special mention of his expectation from the southern states, a region in which the party has traditionally struggled.
In the 2019 election, the BJP scored a duck in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, and won only four of 17 seats in Telangana. It was only in Karnataka that the party made any major return, winning 25 of 28 seats. A significantly stronger score is a must in this election if it wants to achieve its 'abki baar, 400 paar' target, which includes 370+ for the BJP alone.
In the run-up to this election the Prime Minister launched a blitzkrieg of rallies in these states, making nearly a dozen visits to Tamil Nadu alone; the BJP is without a major ally in the state - in which it got just 3.7 per cent of votes - after the AIADMK quit the alliance.
Mr Modi has also made multiple visits to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, making sharp attacks on the Congress and the party-led INDIA opposition bloc, which won 60 of the 129 seats on offer from these three states plus Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The opposition will want - particularly after the Congress' big wins in Telangana and Karnataka state polls - an even stronger result this time, as it bids to stop Mr Modi and the BJP from a third term.
However, the Prime Minister told NDTV that in the battle for the southern states he is confident his party will be the big winner, because the BJP has "made a place... in the minds of the ordinary people" and they recognise the development works of his government.
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"There was a time when from Pashupati to Tirupati... it was known as the 'red corridor'. That entire Naxal belt had been created. Today, gradually, it has vanished. People have started living in peace. Today, look across every corner of India - the northeast, Bengal, Assam, Odisha, the Telugu-speaking states (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Karnataka..."
"The BJP is progressing rapidly. There is trust in the government... and that is why I say that in this election, we will set a historic record," the Prime Minister declared to NDTV.
The BJP, which won 303 seats on its own in the last election, did so thanks to strong results from the Hindi heartland. The party expects a similar showing this time, and is also confident of success in the north-eastern states, which have not always responded to it.
In 2019 the party won, on its own, only 14 of the 24 seats in the seven north-eastern states, although that score went up to 18 including seats won by NDA allies. This time around the saffron party is eager to win more and establish itself in the north-eastern region.
Mr Modi downplayed the suggestion that his expectations might be seen as overconfidence by some, insisting, "I do not live in overconfidence. I am a person who has his ear to the ground. I may think big... I may dream far... but I remain grounded."
"Whether it is south, east, north, west, or central... it is rooted in the nation's mind this is the government that works... a government that leads the country forward," he claimed.
Mr Modi's confidence has been echoed by the BJP's No 2, Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Also speaking exclusively to NDTV, Mr Shah last week said the BJP would claim a "huge victory" in this election, and pointed particularly to the southern states.
READ | "Huge Victory": Amit Shah's Big Claim On BJP's 'Mission South'
"We are moving to a big victory in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu," Mr Shah, who has also been active campaigner in these states, said.
The 2024 Lok Sabha election is spread across seven phases, of which five have been completed.
The sixth, in which national capital Delhi will vote, takes place on May 25 and the seventh, in which Mr Modi's constituency of Varanasi votes, is on June 1.
The results will be out on June 4.