Modi calls opinion polls predicting BJP defeat in Delhi 'pack of lies'

Names regional leaders as better candidates for PM post than Kejriwal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday named regional leaders such a “Mulayam, Mayawati and Mamata” as more suitable candidates for a top consitutional post than Arvind Kejriwal.

Without naming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, Modi said some people were trying to project him as the prime ministerial candidate, while several regional leaders who have served as chief ministers (CMs) were being ignored.

The prime minister, who has often berated Opposition leaders, was all praises for them during his rally at south Delhi’s Ambedkar Nagar.

“We may have ideological differences but there are several who have devoted their youth for the country and the service of their people. They have been CMs of their states twice, thrice.”

Naming Mayawati (four-time Uttar Pradesh CM), Naveen Patnaik (four-time Odisha CM), Mulayam Singh Yadav (three-time Uttar Pradesh CM), Chandrababu Naidu (two-time Andhra Pradesh CM) and Nitish Kumar (two-time Bihar CM) as suitable candidates for the PM’s post, Modi said a particular leader (Kejriwal) was being projected on TV and in newspapers as a prime ministerial hopeful during Lok Sabha elections last year, and the trend has continued since then.

He also tore into opinion polls, claiming these were a “pack of lies” and calling them bazaaroo, or cheap.

Most opinion polls have claimed an out-and-out victory for AAP, with BJP coming second.

“Some have hatched a conspiracy to mislead people through these opinion polls. They had predicted 50 seats for AAP in the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls. They also claimed I would lose (to Kejriwal) by three lakh votes in Varanasi,” said the PM, adding: “But people of India are wise; they understand.”

Modi also claimed that the high attendance at Wednesday’s rally was a clear indication of which way the wind was blowing.

An unauthorised colony with a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes, Ambedkar Nagar had sent an AAP candidate to the Assembly in 2013.

Of the 12 reserved seats in Delhi, AAP had won nine the last time.

This time, in its effort to gain favour with Dalits, BJP distributed pamphlets with pictures of B R Ambedkar with Sangh Parivar icon Syamaprosad Mookerjea and Deen Dayal Upadhyay.