"Congress is pushing Muslim League agenda and Left propaganda"

BJP national president JAGAT PRAKASH NADDA is confident his party and its allies are on track to breach the 400-mark. In an exclusive interview with Group Editorial Director RAJ CHENGAPPA and Deputy Editor ANILESH S. MAHAJAN, he says the BJP had been preparing for the polls two years in advance, while the opponents have come underprepared and are not even showing the resolve to fight. Edited excerpts

-  ANILESH S. MAHAJAN

Q.Compared to 2014 and 2019, what is different this election?

Every election changes with time, and from state to state. In 2014, the vote was for change. Voters were disgusted, disgruntled and there was a lot of negativity. The alternative was Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi. The voters supported us with a huge margin. In 2019, they saw that PM Modi had performed better than their expectations and hence voted him to power again. In 2024, it has become a belief that the country is secure under the leadership of the prime minister, it is developing and there is a vision of a developed India under him. The difference I find is that last time, the Opposition was talking about issues, they still had something, some substance. They were fighting a ladai. But this time, they are just shattered and scattered. They are pretending to fight, but, inside, they have all accepted defeat. For example, last time, they gave us a fight in UP. The Opposition had a formidable composition and they fought tooth and nail. This time, they just gave up. They are losing even (their pocket boroughs) Rae Bareli, Kannauj and Mainpuri. And the issues they were picking up, the public has already rejected them. I have been saying for more than two years that if you have to do the politics of opposition, then you have to think out of the box and work hard. If you don’t, that’s not our fault.

Q. What are the key issues this election?