Amit Shah predicts BJP's Lok Sabha seats in East and South ahead of final phase of voting
New Delhi/IBNS: As the Lok Sabha elections have come to the fag end, Union Home Minister and BJP top leader Amit Shah has predicted the number of seats his party may win in the eastern and southern states, which are still not the saffron camp's stronghold.
Speaking to NDTV, Shah predicted the BJP will further increase its tally in West Bengal and Odisha and make a significant gain in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Shah said, "In the eastern zone, comprising Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, we will emerge as the biggest party. This is certain. And in the five states of the South, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, we will win the biggest party among all states."
The Home Minister has predicted the BJP may win something between 24 and 30 seats in West Bengal, 17 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats and 75 out of 147 assembly seats in Odisha, 10 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana.
With its tally of seats almost saturated in the North and West, the BJP is eyeing to make significant gains in the East and South to manage the overall figure if it suffers any loss in other zones.
Shah's prediction came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi predicted the BJP will get the maximum number of seats in West Bengal.
In an interview with ANI, Modi said, "TMC party is fighting for survival in the Bengal elections. This time, the best-performing state in India is going to be West Bengal. BJP is getting maximum success in West Bengal."
"TMC party is fighting for its existence in the Bengal elections. In the last Assembly elections, we were 3 and the people of Bengal took us to 80 (seats), we got a huge majority in the last Lok Sabha elections. This time, the best-performing state in India is going to be West Bengal. BJP is getting maximum success in West Bengal," he added.
The Prime Minister said, "The election of West Bengal is one-sided, people are leading it and because of those people sitting in the government, TMC people are frustrated... BJP workers are being put in jails before the elections. Despite all these atrocities, more people are voting and the number of votes is also increasing."
57 seats will go to the final phase of voting in the Lok Sabha elections on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.