Cong “Builds” Up A 150 Tally For BJP To Counter “400” Paar Narrative

The bluff and bluster of UP ke ladke or UP boys was on display. It was an unusual show  of confidence on display when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and SP leader Akilesh Yadav came together on Ram Navami to address a presser in Ghaziabad hotel in UP.  For parties that shunned Ram Temple inauguration, it was interesting that they followed up on Ram’s symbolism and had gathered in UP after Jayant Chaudhary and the RLD had left to partner with the NDA.  After all, even the TMC couldn’t resist releasing its manifesto on Ram Navami? It was interesting to see Rahul Gandhi bandy about some numbers, setting  a lower tally for  the NDA to browbeat the BJP; he asserted that the BJP would not cross 150, while his sister Priyanka gave the ruling alliance some  180 seats. The SP leader even predicted that the alliance between the Congress and the SP would spell the end of BJP from Ghaziabad to Ghazipur. When quizzed about the basis of the Gandhis’ claim to such  figures, Congress sources said it was their way of countering PM Modi’s “400 par” narrative. “There are about 230 Lok Sabha seats in the Ram Mandir belt (UP, Bihar, Himachal, Uttarakhand, MP, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Chhattisgarh). While we expect the BJP to do well only in the Mandir belt, we don’t expect them to do well in coastal areas,” said a Congress leader. If the BJP is expected to do well in the Ram Mandir belt, how do Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi plan to contest from Amethi and Rae Bareli without even interacting with voters? This time SP will extend full cooperation. The Gandhis have been assured full support,” says a source