No 'Modi wave'; non-BJP, non-Congress front likely to form govt: Owaisi
Hyderabad: Claiming there is no 'Modi wave' in this Lok Sabha polls like in 2014, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi Thursday said a 'non-BJP, non-Congress' front is likely to form the government at the Centre with a regional leader emerging as a prime minister.
Owaisi, a three-time MP from the Hyderabad parliamentary constituency, also said the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be an "open election" and there will be a fight for every single seat of the total 543 constituencies.
"Unlike 2014, there is no Modi wave this time. It is an open election and there will be a fight on every seat, including Hyderabad," he told PTI in an interview.
Owaisi, who will be contesting from Hyderabad seat again this time, said his party All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) is definitely a part of the 'non-BJP, non-Congress' front led by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) founder and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
This front would be necessary to represent India's political diversity and there are many regional leaders who are much more capable than Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Owaisi added.
He claimed that the BJP out of "desperation" is bringing national security narrative in the poll discourse to "hide its failures", but people will not fall again on his 'jumlas' (false promises) and will vote responsibly.
"There was surgical strike, then Balakote air strike and now anti-satellite missile test (Mission Shakti) -- the poll narrative is changing everyday. All these are signs of desperation to win this election" Owaisi said.
"Why it took five years for such a crucial test? Why he waited for election time. Was he waiting some auspicious moment? Was he was worried about losing space along with people and TV? Why did he choose this time just days before polls? he asked, adding that the PM is only doing "jumlebazi" to divert focus from unemployment, inflation and other issues.
As the BJP's defeat is inevitable, going forward, its poll discourse will therefore change everyday, he stated.
"You will hear how PM's poll narrative will change going forward. Modi will warm up in the first phase and the debate will heat up from the second phase till the festival of Ramadan. But people will not fall for his gimmicks," he said.
Asked about the 'non-BJP, non-Congress' front, the AIMIM chief said, "I am definitely a part of it and I am supporting the TRS on this issue."
He, however, did not share details how the 'non-BJP, non-Congress' front will take shape post polls nor did he disclosed probable prime ministerial candidate who can lead the front, even as he expressed confidence that the regional parties will play a decisive role in the national politics.
Owaisi, referring to a report, said there is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress in 100 out of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. But in over 320 seats, there is a triangular fight between the BJP, Congress and the regional parties.
"Regional parties will play key role in national politics. We tried the 280-plus NDA government, we tried 210 government of UPA, What came out of it? I want India's diversity should be represented. Wait for the results," he said.
The BJP will not gain much in the five southern states, which comprise 130 Lok Sabha constituencies, except for a few seats in Karnataka. The saffron party is likely to lose its lone seat in Secunderabad this time, Owaisi added.
Asked about the TRS considered as a B-team of the BJP that could support the saffron party post polls, Owaisi said, "Not at all. This narrative is given by the Congress. It is completely wrong. They have allergy with regional parties."
Expressing concern over the lack of political representation to the Muslim community, he said, there was no single Muslim MP in 280 seats won by the BJP in 2014 general election as the saffron force wants to run democracy represented by only the majority communities.
"If I talk against Modi that does not mean I am against majority communities. I believe a majoritarian form of democracy will not run in Hindustan. There is no place for this in India's Constitution. I was never against majority communities. I am against BJP and RSS, I will continue to be," he added.
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat is a stronghold of the AIMIM and the party has won this seat in the last eight elections.
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat has seven Assembly segments -- Malakpet, Karwan, Goshamahal, Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura and Bahadurpura.
Out of the seven assembly segments, six are currently held by the AIMIM and one by the BJP.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
