BJP will cross 370 seats-mark in Lok Sabha polls: Modi

JHABUA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he is confident that the BJP will cross the 370 seats-mark in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, and even the opposition leaders in Parliament are saying the ruling coalition will get more than 400 seats.

Addressing a public meeting of tribal community members in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district, PM Modi asked voters to ensure polling of additional 370 votes in each booth, compared to the last elections, for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win 370 seats, out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats.

Even the Opposition leaders in Parliament are now saying "abki baar 400 paar" for the (BJP-led) National Democratic Alliance (NDA), he said.

"I am sure that the BJP's lotus symbol will definitely cross the 370-mark on its own," Modi said.

The PM said he has not come to Jhabua to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, but as the "sevak" to thank the people for their overwhelming support in the recent assembly elections.

The BJP recently won the assembly polls in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh with a thumping majority.

"Our 'double engine' government is working with double speed in Madhya Pradesh," he said referring to the Rs 7,550 crore development projects which he launched before addressing the meeting.

PM Modi targeted the opposition Congress for ignoring the poor, farmers and tribals for long.

"The Congress remembers villages, the poor and farmers only during elections," he said.

Aware of their imminent defeat, the Congress and its allies are resorting to last ditch-tactics, the PM said, adding that "loot and divide” is the motto of the Congress.

"We have started a campaign against the sickle cell anemia not for votes, but for the health of tribals," he said.

The Centre last year launched the National Sickle Cell Anemia Eradication Mission 2047, which aims to address the pressing health challenges posed by the sickle cell disease, particularly among the tribal population.