Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during a poll meeting in Siddharthnagar, made bold predictions about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s performance in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, claiming that the party has already won 310 seats.

Speaking in support of Jagdambika Pal, the BJP candidate from Domariyaganj, Shah asserted that the BJP had secured over 310 seats in the first five rounds of polling, while the Congress would struggle to win even 40 seats.

“The INDI Alliance has been wiped out in the first five phases. I am telling you, this time Congress is not even getting 40 seats, and Akhilesh Yadav will not even get four seats,” Shah declared.

Addressing the issue of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Shah reaffirmed BJP’s stance on the territory. “Leaders of Pakistan say that PoK is theirs. Congress leaders also say that they (Pakistan) have an atom bomb. The BJP people are not scared of atom bombs. PoK is and will remain part of India, and we will take it back,” he said.

Shah accused the opposition of trying to end reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. “Rahul Baba and Akhilesh Yadav, you have been blinded by vote bank politics. We will end reservation on the basis of religion and give it back to the SC, ST and OBCs,” he asserted.

He also criticised the INDIA bloc for lacking a clear prime ministerial candidate, claiming the alliance would have five potential prime ministers if they come to power. “Can the country run like this?” he questioned.

Shah further alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav have planned vacations abroad after the election results. “On the one hand, there is Rahul Gandhi who leaves for Italy, Thailand and Bangkok, and on the other hand, there is Narendra Modi who has not taken any leave for 23 years and even spends his Diwali with soldiers on the border,” he said.

Highlighting the achievements of the BJP, Shah pointed out the implementation of the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) scheme for retired army personnel and expressed confidence that India would become the third-largest economy during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.

Addressing a rally in Ambedkar Nagar, where he sought votes for party candidate Ritesh Pandey, Shah said, Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi did not attend the consecration ceremony of Ram temple because they were scared of losing their vote bank. “You know who their vote bank is? I’ll tell you. Their vote bank is made up of intruders. They did not go for the fear of losing them. They jeopardised the safety of the country.”

In another rally in Sant Kabir Nagar, Shah named several leaders from the opposition parties and accused them of nepotism.

“Lalu Prasad Yadav wants to make his son the chief minister, Uddhav Thackeray wants to make his son the chief minister, Sharad Pawar wants to make his daughter the chief minister, Stalin wants to make his son the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee wants to make her nephew the chief minister, and Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son Rahul Gandhi the prime minister,” he said, adding, someone who works for his family is not going to work for a constituency.

In Khalilabad of Sant Kabir Nagar, where Shah addressed a gathering campaigning for the party’s Praveen Kumar Nishad, who is contesting on a NISHAD Party ticket, a partner of NDA, Shah accused the opposition of stalling the construction of Ram temple for over 70 years and said the temple could only be built because of Modi.

“This election is between the one who constructed Ram temple and those who opened fire on Ram bhakts,” he said.

On the abolition of Article 370 in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, he said, “Article 370 which was protected by the Congress and Samajwadi Party was removed by Narendra Modi in 2019 and Kashmir was made a part of India forever. No one dares to explode bombs there.”

Shah alleged that in the erstwhile SP government “goonda raj” was rampant in Uttar Pradesh, and it was Yogi Adityanath, the current chief minister, who set all goons right.

Polling in Domariyaganj, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Ambedkar Nagar will be held in the sixth phase of ongoing Lok Sabha polls on Saturday.