Rahul Gandhi forecasts “150 seats” for the BJP as phase 1 campaigning draws to a close, while PM Modi “guarantees 3rd term.”

On Wednesday, the first and most extensive round of the Lok Sabha elections concluded. A total of 102 seats spread over 21 states and Union territories will participate in the vote. Invoking Lord Ram on the occasion of Ram Navami, PM Modi said that he is addressing the people with a “guarantee” for a third consecutive term in government before the campaigning came to a close.

In Assam, Prime Minister Modi intensified his criticism of the Opposition India coalition, claiming that while he had approached the people in 2014 with optimism and in 2019 with confidence, he was now addressing them with a pledge for a third consecutive term in government.

However, two days before the general elections begin, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi downplayed the expectations of the BJP, asserting that the BJP will only win 150 seats in the Lok Sabha and claiming that there is a strong undercurrent favoring the opposition. He made these remarks at a press conference alongside Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party.

Gandhi said, “I do not want to predict the number of seats but I can definitely say that the coalition will do very well in Uttar Pradesh,” when asked how many seats he believes the Congress-SP alliance would win. Regarding the broader situation, he said, “It seemed 15–20 days ago that the BJP would win 180 seats. It seems that there will only be 150 tickets available. Every state is informing us that there is a current (favourable to the Indian bloc) and that our position is strengthening.

“This election is a matter of ideology. The country’s democratic system and Constitution are being threatened by the RSS and the BJP, to name a few. He said, “And on the other side is the INDIA bloc, which is safeguarding and preserving the democratic system and the Constitution.

Gandhi’s remarks were made the day after key opposition figure Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, said that the BJP will be limited to less than 200 seats. The opposition seemed to be trying to undermine the BJP’s campaign claim that it was expected to win over 400 seats with partners and 370 seats on its own, based on the assertions made back-to-back.

Yadav said that the opposition alliance will “clean sweep” from Ghaziabad to Ghazipur and that “winds of change” were blowing from western Uttar Pradesh.

“PM Modi claims he came to the people in 2014 with hope, in 2019 with trust, and in 2024 with his guarantees,” said Jairam Ramesh, chairman of the Congress media department. In actuality, he has broken the public’s confidence since 2019, crushed expectations from 2014, and his departure is now certain in 2024.

While the Opposition INDIA alliance focused on the governing party by bringing up concerns like price increases, farmer misery, and unemployment, the BJP built their campaign around the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Tamil Nadu (39 seats) and Uttarakhand (5 seats) are the two states where voting will conclude on Friday in the highly anticipated first round. Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, 8 Uttar Pradesh, 6 Madhya Pradesh, 5 Assam, 5 Maharashtra, 4 Bihar, 3 West Bengal, 2 Arunachal Pradesh, 2 Sikkim, 1 Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry are among the other states with 12 seats up for grabs in the first phase.

Parties that are now a member of the INDIA bloc won as many as 49 of the 102 seats up for grabs in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, including 38 seats in Tamil Nadu alone. 48 seats had been won by the BJP and its allies, which included parties from the Northeast. The BSP took home three, while the AIADMK and the unified Shiv Sena each took home one.