The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday made a pitch for unity among opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, stating that the BJP can be defeated if all key leaders of these political outfits keep aside their ego and stick to their current stance of not keen on becoming the next prime minister.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party also praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying people have started liking his patience, and also stated that everyone needs to come out of the illusion that he cannot be a match to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Uddhav Thackeray-led party dubbed the BJP's defeat in Karnataka as a bad omen for 2024 and also predicted that in the upcoming Assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will lose Madhya Pradesh and the Congress will retain Chhattisgarh and in Rajasthan "magician" Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will make the battle difficult for the BJP.
Everyone should come out of the illusion that Rahul Gandhi cannot be a match to PM Modi. In fact, now PM Modi himself feels that the he poses a challenge to him, it claimed.
The Sena (UBT) said if Mr Gandhi undertakes an independent campaign in north India, then the prospects of his party there could change.
It further said PM Modi himself will be the reason for the BJP's defeat in 2024 and Home Minister Amit Shah will contribute to it. There is anger against the Modi-Shah duo and people have made up their mind to defeat the BJP, it said.
"The question remains who will be pitted as the prime ministerial candidate against PM Modi. It will be the Constitution and Mother India. A leader will emerge from amongst the people," it said.
It is necessary to take along the "vanar sena" to overthrow the rule of demon king Ravana, the party added.
"For this, everyone has to keep aside the attitude of 'me first'. Every groom (a reference to key opposition leaders) is of the opinion that he does not want to become the prime minister. If all grooms stick to this stance, then everything will happen as per their wishes (to dislodge the Modi government)," the party said.
It said the country has 36 states and BJP is not ruling in Bihar, West Bengal, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.
"If the BJP loses seats in bigger states like West Bengal and smaller states like Haryana, then it will lose around 100 seats. The BJP claims that it will cross 400 seats, but their own leaders say it will be good if the party crosses the 200-mark," the editorial said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
"Prove With Pics Crime Scene Intact": Court To Bengal Over Hospital Vandalism
Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana Assembly Polls: Facts, Figures Explained In Graphics Will Back Any Candidate Announced As Chief Minister Face: Uddhav Thackeray RSS-Linked Books Mandated In Madhya Pradesh Colleges, Opposition Sees Red Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan 80 Killed In Paramilitary Attack In Sudan OpenAI Blocks Iranian Group's ChatGPT Accounts For Targeting US Election Blinken Heading To Israel To Press Gaza Truce Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.