LS Polls: Kharge Backs Rahul Gandhi As PM, Predicts 128 Seats For Congress

New Delhi: One of BJP’s main criticism of the INDIA bloc has been that there is no unity among the leading parties of the alliance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking a third term, even went to the extent of saying that the country could have one Prime Minister every year if INDIA bloc came to power.

There has been no official communication from INDIA leaders as to who could be their Prime Minister face, with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray saying two weeks ago that the candidate has already been decided.

On Friday, a day before the seventh and final phase of polling, Mallikarjun Kharge said Congress hopes to bag 128 seats and stop the saffron party from winning another term.

“From the reports that we have received, we are sure of stopping the BJP from returning to power. We believe that the Congress has already crossed the 100-seat mark and are hoping to win 128 seats,” the Congress president told NDTV.

It may be recalled that Congress won 44 seats in 2014 and 52 in 2019 general elections.

Kharge claimed that INDIA bloc Opposition parties have successfully transferred their votes to each other this time.

In a significant comment, Kharge backed Rahul Gandhi for the country’s top post.

“Rahul Gandhi is my choice as Prime Minister. He represents the youth, and the length and breadth of the nation,” said Kharge, who earlier turned down a suggestion by Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal to be INDIA bloc’s PM candidate.

Kharge revealed why he has convened a meeting of INDIA parties on June 1.

“We have called the meeting to ensure that there is no meddling in the counting of votes. We will tell every leader how EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) tampering works and how to ensure that the tampering does not happen,” Kharge stated.

The counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections will be held on June 4. The Congress is looking to improve upon its tally of 44 in 2014 and 52 five years later. Both times, the BJP secured single-party majority, a feat it hopes to achieve this year as well.