"INDIA Ahead After 5 Phases, BJP Facing Defeat": M Kharge To NDTV

Formed in June last year, the Congress-led INDIA bloc was expected to unite the opposition and mount a concerted challenge to Prime Minister Modi and the BJP.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has backed the INDIA bloc to come up trumps against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, arguing that mega wins in the 2014 and 2019 polls - in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party scored 282 and 303 seats on its own, and 336 and 353 with allies - meant it had reached a saturation point in terms of votes it might win.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Kharge said the BJP's failure to fulfil promises made over the previous two terms (10 years) would also count against it, and highlighted issues like unemployment and the cost of living crisis to make his point - that it is necessary to remove the BJP government to "strengthen democracy and save the Constitution".

"Even after five phases (the 2024 election is spread across seven phases, with the fifth completed on Monday and the sixth scheduled for Saturday) the INDIA bloc is ahead. This is because Modiji did not fulfil promises he made... the people waited for 10 years..."