No regional party other than Congress can be a national alternative against Modi and BJP, says Maha ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan

It’s Imperative that all opposition parties gather under Congress leadership to stop BJP in 2024 Lok Sabha election,’ says ex Maha CM

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Mumbai: Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday asserted “No regional party except the Congress can be a national alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”.

Speaking to newspersons in Nashik, the former Maharashtra chief minister further argued that it was the responsibility of all non-BJP regional parties to ensure that the Congress is strengthened in order to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Chavan is an MLA from Karad South constituency in Satara district.

Prithviraj Chavan further stated, “In order to stop the divisive politics being practiced by Modi and the BJP, it is imperative that all like-minded parties come together under the Congress banner. Only then can liberal democracy endure and the Constitution’s articles be preserved… it is everyone’s responsibility to strengthen the Congress.”

The former Chief Minister alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his second term as Prime Minister, was resorting to communal politics in order to win future elections, including the 2024 Lok Sabha election. He further remarked that an American democracy watchdog had recently dubbed India a “democratic autocracy” instead of a “liberal democracy”.

“For the first five years of his (Modi’s) tenure as Prime Minister, he had not resorted to such socially divisive tactics. However, given that the economy is in a shambolic state now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP are disturbing the country’s social harmony by fostering riots and kicking-up needless controversies between temple and mosque,” remarked Prithviraj Chavan.

He stressed that the Congress had to take the lead in order to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi from winning the 2024 Lok Sabha election and check the BJP which had created a climate of hatred in the country.

Prithviraj Chavan further stated that contrary to what certain regional leaders might think, no other non-BJP opposition party in the country had a footprint unlike the Congress, which still had a presence in every taluka, district and state.

He further stated, “The Congress must gear up for a good show in the 12 Assembly elections in the country before the 2024 Lok Sabha election… There is a thought among some leaders as to what an opposition front would be without the Congress. While some of these regional parties – in the Punjab, in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh – have resoundingly defeated the BJP, it has to be admitted that their leaders have no influence outside of their respective states.” He said this while implying that no broad opposition against the BJP could be possible without the Congress.

Prithviraj Chavan is a member of the Congress so-called ‘G-23 committee’ which has been clamoring for internal reforms within the party, downplaying any resentment against the party high command or Rahul Gandhi.

Denying reports that he was ‘upset’ with the choice of candidates the party high command had fielded for the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls, Chavan said it was only his opinion that it might have been better had senior Maharashtra Congressman Mukul Wasnik been fielded from here instead of Rajasthan.

“It was my honest opinion that had Mukul Wasnik been fielded from here (Maharashtra), then his 30 to 40-year-old connection with the Vidarbha region would have remained intact and would have benefited the party in Maharashtra. But this does not mean I am upset with the high command. I think this discussion should be stopped now that it is clear that we will have to fight the polls against the BJP on the sixth RS seat in the State,” he added further.