South to help BJP make new gains: Gadkari

Nagpur, March 31

Avowing abiding confidence in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of 370 seats, BJP leader Nitin Gadkari says the additional seats to its current strength of 288 will come from gains in southern India in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Gadkari said there was “no doubt” in his mind that the BJP-led NDA alliance would cross 400 seats and that Modi would take over as Prime Minister for a third term because of the solid work done by the government in the past 10 years.

He dismissed allegations that the Modi government was “weaponising” central probe agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate and CBI to weaken the opposition, saying the BJP’s rivals should make efforts to overcome adversity by winning the confidence of the people.

“Is it our responsibility to make the opposition weak or strong? When we had just two MPs and were weak, we never got any sympathy,” Gadkari, who is seeking a third Lok Sabha term from Nagpur, said.

Gadkari launched his campaign with a massive roadshow on Saturday through Nagpur, his motorcade crawling through a sea of supporters who withstood 40°C temperature to welcome the local hero.

He was also asked to explain the arithmetic of 370 seats for BJP and more than 400 seats for the NDA, given that they have already maxed out in their stronghold states.

“There is no need to make a state-wise analysis. This time we will taste success in the South. The work we have done in the South and the North-East over the last 10 years under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership… we have started getting results of the same,” he said.