Had PM worked on ground, he would not search for success in space: Kamal Nath

BHOPAL: Chief minister Kamal Nath on Saturday claimed that BJP will not get more than 160 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “It is a straight calculation that in the 2014 general elections, the NDA had won 73 seats from Uttar Pradesh, how many will they get this time?” the chief minister said while addressing medaipersons at the state Congress office.

“How many seats will they get in Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh? The BJP’s seats will decrease considerably. And where will they gain from? How many seats will they get from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala?” he argued.

Speaking about the Congress party in Madhya Pradesh, Nath said that his party will win more than 22 out of total 29 seats in the state. Asked why the BJP has still not been able to announce its candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat opposite senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath said, “BJP ka paseena utar raha hai (BJP is sweating it out).” Taking a dig at the rival party, he said, “They should advertise for candidates and then might get someone.”

Launching an attack on the BJP, Nath said that the saffron party was born in the Eighties. “It was the Hindu Mahasabha, thereafter, it became part of the Janata Party. When I contested my first Lok Sabha election from

Chhindwara

, there was no BJP. Congress’ culture has been synonymous with India’s culture. We unite people in a country known for its unity in diversity. There are so many languages and so many castes and communities, all standing under one national flag. This is the Congress’ culture,” he said.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the testing of anti-satellite missile, Nath said, “Narendra Modi no longer talks of ‘acche din’, employment for youths and Rs 15 lakh in every bank account. Now he is looking at the skies, into space. Had he worked on the ground, he would not have had to look for achievement into the universe now.” Kamal Nath said that the entire world is looking towards India and the Prime Minister claims he is “chowkidar”.

“Whose Chowkidar is he? Is he chowkidar of the farmers who committed suicide? Is he chowkidar for women who feel unprotected?”

The chief minister was asked if former BJP minister Sanjay Pathak (who left Congress and joined BJP in 2014) would be back in the Congress. To this, Kamal Nath said, “The question is not about who wants to join the Congress. Rather, it is about who we accept in our party.” Asked whether senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia would be contesting from Indore, Kamal Nath said, “Hi is sitting MP from Guna.

Unless he wants to change constituency, it cannot be changed.” Nath said that the Congress central screening committee and the central election committee (CEC) will meet on Monday to decide on candidates for the remaining 20 seats of Madhya Pradesh. Congress has so far announced names of nine candidates in MP.