Pune: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Sunday took a jibe at Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on meeting his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray in an effort to unite Opposition against BJP and said that he is limited to his state adding that his calls for uniting Opposition will have no impact on the NDA.
“The way (West Bengal CM) Mamata Banerjee came to Mumbai and met (NCP chief) Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, similarly, Chandrashekhar also got aroused. He is trying to form a third front but he is limited to Telangana. It is good that they are meeting. If they want, they can form a third front but it is not going to have any negative impact on us. NDA under PM Modi’s leadership doing good work. We have given justice to the people of India. Be it a third front or fourth, it does not matter to us,” Athawale told media persons.
His statement comes after the Telangana Chief Minister met Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai.
Speaking on the Assembly elections in five states including Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Manipur, Athawale said that the BJP will emerge victorious in all these states.
“In all five states, BJP and NDA will come to power. Meanwhile, people have the right to form their fronts. We will come to power in 2024 (Lok Sabha) elections,” Athawale said.
Of the five states where Assembly elections are being held this year, Punjab is the only state where Congress is the incumbent government. On this, Athawale said, “There will be a change in power in Punjab. After Congress loses power, it will come to NDA. The votes are getting distributed in Punjab. BJP-NDA will get a clear majority and we will come to power in Punjab.”
Punjab is undergoing Assembly elections to 117 seats in a single phase on Sunday.
Punjab is witnessing a multi-corner contest this time with Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance, and the coalition of Bharatiya Janata Party-former chief minister Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress party as key players.
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