Picture : ANI / X
Voting for two phases out of seven for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections are over. And the BJP and NDA are in buoyant mood. Citing huge crowds at various rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP ministers their is self- belief that BJP and NDA would romp home to power on June 4 comfortably.
And this gung- ho about the results was pointed out by Home Minister Amit Shah in an interview to Time Now Navbharat . Shah was absolutely confident as he said that by 1 : 00 PM on counting Day June 4 , NDA will cross the 400 mark . ” By 1 pm on June 4 , people will bless Narendra Modi for the third time as PM with a majority of over 400 seats Shah reportedly said.
If Amit Shah’s predictions do come true then it will be be the first time in history of the country since Independence in 15, August 1947 that a ruling party in power in the middle of an election has predicted the numbers of seats one would get in parliament with such audacity and confidence. Shocking the pollsters and political pundits.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman too backed the 400 target for NDA as she recently stated, “The campaign is going on very well. The first two phases also have gone as per our expectations. We are doing absolutely well and the target that the PM has set for BJP 370 plus and NDA ‘400 paar’ will be met and repeatedly home minister has also been saying this. Our campaign because of the hard work of the workers and also because the beneficiaries who are everywhere in the country are very clearly reflecting the need for a stable government and for Prime Minister Modi to have a third term…”
BJP and NDA are confident so much so that dip in the voting percentage is no concern at all their set target is right on track . According to the Election Commission , the final voter turnout for the first phase was 66.14 per cent, while it was 66.71 per cent for the second phase. In 2019, voter turnout in the first phase was recorded at 69.4 per cent and 69.2 per cent in the second phase, reported Times of India (TOI).
The Election Commission (EC) too expressed disappointment about the polling percentage in some metropolitan cities in the second phase, attributing it to “rigid levels of apathy” in urban seats.
The Commission’s statement comes against the backdrop of a drop of just under 4 percentage points for the first phase of elections and under 3 percentage points for the second phase compared to the 2019 elections. Voting percentage for the 102 seats that went to poll in the first phase on April 19 was 66.14% and for the second phase on April 26, in which 88 seats voted, was 66.71%.
In the first two phases, urban seats, which have traditionally registered low turnouts in the fifties, did not move the needle even this time. In fact, the voting percentage decreased further. Among them was Ghaziabad, which experienced a decrease of 6 percentage points from 55.88% in 2019 to 49.88% this time. Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 53.63%, down from 60.4% in 2019, reported Indian Express.
As five phases are still to go and war of words between the BJP and the Congress, INDIA Alliance reaches decibel levels . Clearly onus now lies on the Godi media to defend the Abki Baar 400 paar headline. So watch this space .
