Advertisement

Half the credit of Narendra Modi becoming PM should go to Rahul Gandhi: MNS chief

MNS chief Raj Thackeray said that Rahul mocking Narendra Modi did not go down well with voters.

Half the credit of Narendra Modi becoming PM should go to Rahul Gandhi: MNS chief

Thane: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Friday credited Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's victory in the last Lok Sabha elections. He said that half of the credit for Modi becoming the PM goes to Rahul as his mocking of the then Gujarat chief minister did not go down well with voters.

"Fifty per cent credit for Narendra Modi's victory in the 2014 general elections goes to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. The way he mocked Modi during the campaign, helped the latter win the polls," Thackeray said 

He also said that social media also had 15 per cent contribution to make, and around 10-20 per cent credit would go to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and also the RSS for the party's victory. He also admitted that the remaining share of votes were because of Modi's personal charisma.

However, he claimed that the current trends show that it is likely that the ruling BJP may now lose the upcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat. "The recent trends, as well as reports, indicate that the ruling party is likely to lose the elections. Some visuals of Modi's public meetings are doing the round, which show that people are leaving the venue in groups during his address, which had never happened in the past. Even from this, one gets a message," he said.

Taking a jibe at the party, he said that if the BJP gets more than 150 seats, it should be considered a miracle by the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

He also alleged that the Election Commission had "inordinately" delayed the announcement of Gujarat election dates under a lot of pressure. "The Election Commission and other statutory bodies should work independently. But it does not happen here," he said.

Election to the 182-member Assembly in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 9 and 14, and the results will be declared on December 18.