Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in an exclusive interview to Network18, said Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were still undecided about fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as they had lost their self-confidence.
Shah’s comments came amid the Congress dragging its feet on announcing the candidature of the siblings from the party bastions of Amethi and Raebareli.
In a conversation with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Shah said the siblings should have given the seats to a party worker instead.
“These people have lost their self-confidence. They don’t have the self-confidence to fight even from their ancestral seat. If they didn’t want to fight, why have they kept the decision on the seat pending for so long? If they had given it to a worker, at least he could have done some public outreach. This confusion somewhere reflects the lack of self-confidence,” the home minister said.
Talking about the BJP’s prospects in Uttar Pradesh, Shah said the party could win all 80 seats “if everything goes well”. “In Uttar Pradesh, increasing seats means… if everything goes well, we can win 80 out of 80. I have said it’s a possibility that we can win 80 out of 80. It is certain that our seats will increase,” he said.
Earlier, in an interaction with Network18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had mocked the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh, taking a dig at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for fielding his family from the politically crucial state.
While Akhilesh Yadav is contesting from Kannauj, his wife Dimple is contesting from Mainpuri. Apart from this, his family members are in the fray from Firozabad and Azamgarh.
“They are forced to field family members. It is their compulsion. That’s their main character. They don’t have anything else. To fight for family members and to make family members fight in elections — that’s the game,” he had said.
Responding to a question by Network18 Group Editor Rahul Joshi on Yadav and Rahul Gandhi coming together, the prime minister had said the people of Uttar Pradesh know what is good for them.
“Didn’t they join forces before? They have united before, many times. But the people of Uttar Pradesh understand what is good for them. I said in Parliament that today the situation in Uttar Pradesh and the country is such that big leaders are withdrawing from the Lok Sabha race and trying to take the Rajya Sabha route. And that’s what it is. Big leaders are not ready to fight the elections. But we are working responsibly, taking everyone along and performing our duties. And I think nothing will be left of them this time around. Nothing.”
Watch Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s full interview on CNN-News18 at 9pm.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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