Lok Sabha polls a contest between 'brand Modi' and 'brand virodhi': BJP's Ajay Alok
New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha elections are a contest between "brand Modi" and "brand virodhi", making it virtually a presidential contest that leaves no doubt about who will win given the emotional connect people have with Narendra Modi, BJP national spokesperson Ajay Alok has said.
The prime minister's declared target of 370 seats will be helped by a record tally in southern states and West Bengal, Alok told PTI, giving an explicit breakdown of seats the BJP will win in states that have traditionally not been its strongholds.
He said the party will win seven-eight seats in Tamil Nadu, is "1,000 per cent sure" to bag over eight in Telangana, four in Andhra Pradesh and a few in Kerala, an astounding claim as the BJP has never won a Lok Sabha seat in the Left and Congress dominated state. It currently has no seat in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and has four in Telangana.
Asked if his projection was too optimistic about a state like Tamil Nadu, an achilles heel for the BJP, he said, "Absolutely not. The inert Hindutva feeling has risen among people. Dravidian politics has its limit."
He said a big impact of the decade-long tenure of Modi has been a resurgent pride among Hindus in their faith.
"People no longer feel embarrassed in flaunting their Hindu identity," he said.
However, being Hindu and being Indian is the same, he added, while also underlining the impetus to the country's growth and development during Modi's tenure.
Alok, a visible face of the BJP on the broadcast news, said of his home state Bihar that even there it is the brand equity of Modi which will ensure a sweep by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
With JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar back into the NDA fold, he answered in the negative when asked if "brand Nitish" will remain strong in the state during the polls.
"This election is going the way of either you are with Modi or you are against Modi. In this Nitish and others will act as an add-on but cannot become a brand," Alok, who began his political innings from the BJP and then joined the JD(U) before returning to the party.
India may not have the presidential form of government but people often vote on these lines as they have historically rallied around a leader during elections.
"Today it is either 'brand Modi' or 'brand virodhi'. There are different rivals (virodhi) in different states. But 'brand Modi' is present everywhere," Alok, who quit a government job to join politics and is a medical doctor, said.
Asked which states the BJP expects to get the required bump in tally to reach its target of 370 seats, he said West Bengal will be a big surprise and its number may even double from the current 18. Its numbers will go up in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha besides in south India, he added.
To questions about the main opposition party, he said the Congress is "terminally ill" as doctors "treating" it are not qualified doctors. They need to change their doctors, Alok said.
Someone like Shashi Tharoor will go back to the US to pursue Ph.D after the polls, he said, suggesting that the three-term Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram may lose this time. The BJP has fielded Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from the constituency.
He dismissed the suggestions that the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal may get the opposition, which has united in his support and accused the BJP of vendetta, public sympathy, saying Indians have never displayed any sympathy for those facing corruption charges.
He cited the examples of former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, a convict in corruption cases, and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who lost power after his government was embroiled in the allegations of corruption in the Bofors deal.
When the BJP was in the opposition, it would gather evidence of corruption in deals during the UPA government and courts often ordered probe but the current opposition has failed to produce any evidence against the Modi dispensation, he said.
The BJP government in Karnataka was accused of corruption by the Congress with the "40 per cent sarkara" jibe but it has been able to produce no evidence after coming to power.
The BJP spokesperson dubbed Kejriwal a mix of Yadav and gangster-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, saying he has on the one hand brought in political spotlight an "urbanised Rabri Devi", a reference to his wife Sunita Kejriwal, and has on the other decided to run his government from jail.
The Modi government has an "intolerance" for corruption and its campaign against the corrupt will continue, he said.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
