Congress efforts on Rafale deal will fall flat: Athawale
Kolkata, Sep 27 : The Congress campaign against the Modi government on the Rafale deal will fall flat and the BJP will win more than 300 seats in the 2019 general elections, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said on Thursday.
Accusing Congress President Rahul Gandhi of repeatedly making "baseless allegations" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the fighter jet deal with France, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment claimed that such campaigns will not reap much benefit for either Gandhi or his party as its seats tally in 2019 will not cross 70.
"The Rafale issue is being blown out of proportion. Rahul Gandhi is making abusive statements about the Prime Minister. He has even called Modi ji a thief. But if he wants to have people and leaders of other parties by his side, he has to desist from making such baseless allegations," Athawale told reporters here.
"The Congress can get close to 60-70 seats in 2019 but their tally will not cross 70. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which won 282 seats in 2014, will get more than 300 seats this time. The NDA alliance will form the government and Modi ji will become the Prime Minister again because the developmental work under this government has been unprecedented," the Republican Party of India (RPI) leader claimed.
"The BJP will also win significant number seats in Bengal. The BJP is doing well in Bengal politics. We will continue our alliance with the BJP. My party has good infrastructure in 17 Bengal districts," he added.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
