New Delhi: Amit Shah has predicted the BJP's "best ever showing" in four southern states in this election, telling NDTV Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana had reached a critical threshold, and that he expects this to translate into votes.
"This time, from the south I feel it will be our best ever showing. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana... and Karnataka... in these states we will have a strong result. For the first time in South India, Prime Minister Modi's popularity has grown so that we can get votes and seats."
He pointed to increased vote share between the 2014 and 2019 as another sign that the BJP's reach in South India, a region that has traditionally rejected the party, should now result in seat gains.
In the 2014 election the BJP polled 5.5 per cent of the votes in Tamil Nadu. This fell to less than 3.7 in 2019. In neighbouring Kerala, the party got a little over 10 per cent of the votes in 2014 and that increased to 12.93 per cent five years later. However, the party failed to win a seat in either state.
The BJP has historically struggled most in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The party has, however, poured significant resources, including Mr Modi's time, into campaigning in these states.
Mr Modi has made over a dozen visits between Tamil Nadu and Kerala in recent weeks.
The comment comes as all of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats vote today in the first phase of the election.
Kerala's 20 seats vote in the second phase on April 26, while Andhra Pradesh's 25 do so in the fourth phase on May 13. Telangana, in which the BJP made dramatic gains in last year's Assembly poll, going from one seat in 2018 to eight this time, has 17 constituencies that also vote May 13.
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Karnataka, the sole southern state in which the BJP has a strong presence, votes across the second and third phases, i.e., April 26 and May 7. The BJP won 25 of its 28 seats last time around.
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The BJP sees the southern states as crucial in its bid to achieve an ambitious target - over 370 Lok Sabha seats on its own and more than 400 with its NDA allies. The southern states, including the sole seat from Puducherry, send 130 MPs to the Lok Sabha, of which the party won only 29 seats.
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A significantly better showing is a must if the BJP is to achieve its 'abki baar, 400 paar' target, particularly since the Congress-led opposition INDIA bloc is widely expected to sweep Tamil Nadu and Kerala, while the non-aligned YSR Congress Party is seen as having the edge in Andhra Pradesh.
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