Political strategist Prashant Kishor, who has predicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return for the third term with 300-plus seats for the BJP, believes the Congress won't get 100 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. "They (Congress) cannot get three figures. They wouldn't get three figures," he said in an interview.
When asked whether Congress would improve its previous tally, Kishor said he had no idea. "They are 50-55, where they will be - I don't know. I do not see Congress getting 100 because if Congress is getting 100 then BJP is not getting 300 as simple as that. It's a common sense. The Congress cannot get three figure, period."
The Congress was reduced its slowest-ever tally of 44 in 2014. In 2019, the grand old party increased its numbers by 8 to 52.
Asked where the Congress can go from its current position, Kishor said: "There's no bottom to the pit...I'm just saying Congress is not getting into three figures. Let's leave it there."
The strategist said he does not get into these numbers for the heck of it. "I'm not doing it for BJP or Congress. I'm broadly looking at who is going to form the government. Now, whether Congress comes at 65, 68, 72, or 55 - it is immaterial to me. To my mind, it doesn't matter. If somebody says - I have improved by 20. Okay, be my guest. Who cares whether you improve from 55 to 65 or 68 - why should I break my head? I would break my head if I see that there's a possibility of them breaking into 100. That would change the (game)...but that's out of the question."
In an interview with India Today, the strategist earlier this week said that the BJP may not suffer "material damage" in the North and West, and is likely to add 20-25 seats from the East and South. He said material damage means 50 or more seats as the saffron party can not compensate for the loss of 50 seats in North and West from East and South.
According to Kishor's assessment, the BJP-led NDA will form the government in Delhi. He believes that the BJP will certainly not go below 270 and most likely improve its previous tally, which is 303. He has also predicted that the BJP's vote share and seats will increase in Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, and Telangana.
On Friday, Kishor shared the most conservative figure by political analyst Yogendra Yadav. Yadav has been predicting a major loss of seats for the BJP. According to Yadav, the BJP is likely to get 240-260 seats, while its NDA partners 35-45. The Congress, on the other hand, may get 85 to 100 seats.
Citing these numbers, Kishor said according to Yogendra Yadav, the BJP may get 240-260 seats and NDA allies may get 35-45 seats. "Meaning BJP/NDA may get 275-305 seats. 272 seats are required to form a government in the country and BJP/NDA has 303/323 seats in the outgoing Lok Sabha. (Shiv Sena won 18 seats as part of NDA but is no longer with them)," he said. "Now you can judge for yourself whose government is being formed."