It Will Be A Repeat Of 2003 For BJP In Madhya Pradesh: Union Minister

Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has claimed that the BJP will get over 165 seats in the upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.

"It will be a repeat of 2003. I am saying it clearly, BJP will get more than 165 seats," Mr Patel told NDTV.

The BJP MP said that he will accept whatever decisions the party takes on the tricky issue of who gets the top job. "Elections are the first stage, after this whatever decision the party takes, we will follow," he said.

On being asked if he would be comfortable working in Shivraj Singh Chauhan cabinet, he said, "It is important under whose leadership we work and I am proud that we are working under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our vision and intention, is important."

Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said that the party is facing a leadership crisis itself. "Same old faces of 2003, whom I would not even call spotless, are commenting on us. Congress does not have leadership at all, they have ended the second line of leadership," he said.

He also questioned the Bihar government's intentions behind the caste survey.

"We don't do politics in the name of caste. It would be better if the opposition does not work to divide people on the basis of caste. I am raising the question of intent and need. I believe that there is a bad intent and they are using this as a weapon to suppress the big successes of the Women's Quota Bill."

"In Madhya Pradesh, our leadership has always been in the hands of the backward classes. Whether it is Uma ji, Babulal Gaur or Shivraj ji, I think we did not talk about creating a separate identity for the backward classes but gave them leadership."