Reiterating the party line, Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesman and star campaigner Shahnawaz Hussain said that Congress promise in its manifesto of providing Rs 72,000 to every poor citizen is nothing but a hollow assurance. Criticising the statement made by Congress national president Rahul Gandhi about veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, he said that the BJP would not tolerate anyone insulting its senior leaders. Hussain also welcomed the Rashtriya Janata Dal state president Islamuddin Ansari who along with his supporters joined the BJP here on Sunday. About BJPs manifesto he said, “We are going to release our manifesto on April 8. It will define the vision of our party to make India Vishwa Guru.”
Addressing the media at the BJP State office here, its national spokesman averred that the party would win more than 400 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He said, “The results of 2014 Lok Sabha election were the result of Narendra Modi’s hurricane. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and other opposition parties will be swept away in the tsunami of PM Modi’s popularity.”
About the response BJP is getting he said, “Constituencies in which we had lost in 2014 elections, are now giving us positive response. In states like West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala and Telangana we are positive that BJP will get majority votes. In fact in Tamil Nadu too, the wind is blowing in the direction of BJP-AIADMK alliance.”
Attacking Congress president Rahul Gandhi he said, “The Congress chief himself ran away from Amethi to Wayanad, the only constituency in India, where the majority is in minority. He doesn’t have confidence in himself. The party which orchestrated scams amounting to more than Rs 72,000 crore is now promising Rs 72,000 yearly to poor people. No one is falling for such a promise.”
Condemning Rahul Gandhi’s statement on Lal Krishna Advani he said, “Lal Krishna Advani is one of those leaders of BJP who are with us since the beginning. Congress chief insulting him will not be tolerated by BJP.”
Explaining why senior BJP leaders like Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were not given tickets, he said that giving tickets to seniors is not the party’s definition of respect.
When asked that why BJP is seen as two man show run by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah he said, “Having a president as hardworking as Amit Shah is a blessing. Narendra Modi is our supreme leader, but BJP has a lot of other leaders. Even then, the BJP takes decisions with everyone’s approval. Even I was a member of the board which decided the allocation of party tickets to our alliance partner in Bihar.”
On Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati’s statement that the Mahagathbandhan would win if there is no problem with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) he said that in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh there was not problem with the EVMs during the Vidhan Sabha elections.
“But now that Behenji knows that she is not going to win, EVMs are again getting all the blame. In 2014 general elections, the BSP had scored zero. This time too, even with the help of Akhilesh Yadav she is going to score zero.”
Replying to another question he said, “We don’t mind people having different point of views. However, when Mehbooba Mufti says that if article 370 is lifted J&K will not be a part of India, we can’t call her the epitome of patriotism. Farukh Abdullah questioning the death of 40 martyrs in the Pulwama terror attack- we can’t call him patriotic either.”