BJP will get 370 seats in Lok Sabha polls: Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted on Saturday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will get 370 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections due to its role in the abrogation of Article 370. Shah also stated that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will win over 400 seats and form the government for a third consecutive term under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
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Shah's statement is in reference to the repeal of Article 370, which removed the special status accorded to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in 2019. The removal of the special status enabled Indian laws to be applied directly to the region. While removing the special status, the central government also downgraded J&K into a Union Territory (UT), dividing the region with Ladakh as a separate UT.
BJP believes in family planning but not in politics: Shah
Speaking at the ET NOW Global Business Summit 2024, Shah also addressed the possibility of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and other regional parties joining the NDA for the Lok Sabha elections. The home minister said that the BJP believes in "family planning but not in politics," hinting that more parties may join the ruling coalition.
Shah attacks INDIA bloc, Rahul Gandhi
Furthermore, Shah claimed the 2024 polls wouldn't be an election between the NDA and the opposition's Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc. Instead, it will be a fight between development and those who merely give slogans. Regarding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said that the grand old party leader has zero right to go on with such a march as his party was responsible for India's partition in 1947.
Will implement CAA before Lok Sabha elections: Shah
At the summit, the BJP leader also announced that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will likely be notified and implemented before this year's general polls. Shah reiterated that the goal of CAA wasn't to take away citizenship from someone but to grant citizenship to minorities in neighboring nations who have encountered religious persecution. The CAA was passed in December 2019 to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.
