New Delhi/IBNS: Former political strategist Prashant Kishor has reiterated his prediction that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to pull off a win in West Bengal in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which is beginning on April 19.

In an interview with PTI, Kishor spoke about BJP's probable gains in south Indian states Tamil Nadu and Telangana besides improvements in eastern states like Odisha and West Bengal.

Kishor said, "I had said this a year back that for the first time I see the BJP in double digits in Tamil Nadu in terms of vote share. They (BJP) will be either the first or second party in Telangana which is a big thing. They will be number one in Odisha, for sure.

"They could very well be number one in Bengal. A lot of people would be surprised but, in all likelihood, to my mind, the BJP is going to emerge as the number one party in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha."

In the 2019 General Elections, the BJP, which is spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, shocked West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) by winning 18 of 42 seats.

While the BJP had gained 16 seats, TMC's tally nosedived from 34 to 22.

However in 2021, TMC, which was aided by Kishor, stormed back to power winning over 200 seats paving way for Mamata Banerjee to become the Chief Minister for the third term.

Though Kishor predicted BJP's rise in south and east India, the former strategist, who has now started his own political campaign Jan Suraj Abhiyan, feels BJP is unlikely to achieve 370 seats, a target set by Modi, in the upcoming elections.

If he wins, Modi will become the second Indian leader after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to become the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term.

The elections will be held in seven phases from April 19 to June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.