'Betting high on Modi's return'

Bookies in Jodhpur district have predicted a near sweep by the BJP in Rajasthan, saying it could get 20-22 Lok Sabha seats in the state while the Congress would get the remaining 3-5 seats.

The BJP has a strong presence in the most crucial seat of Rajasthan. Jodhpur is where Union Minister of State Gajendra Singh Shekhawat faces Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot from the Congress.

While the betting rate on a Shekhawat win is 80 paise, that on Vaibhav is Rs 1.25 to Rs 1.50 which indicates that BJP has strong chances to win here, said a bookie on condition of anonymity.

He informed that the bookies were all out over the weekend to collect data and make a clear analysis at an all-India level.

He further said that the BJP would garner over 250 seats in India while the Congress would be limited to 70 seats. "We all are betting high on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's return as the Prime Minister. The rate for his coming back as the Prime Minister is one paisa in the market," he said.

Earlier, there was a prediction of 18-20 seats for the BJP in Rajasthan which has now gone higher to 20-22 seats.

The BJP will come big in Bengal this time, he said, with the present rates of 10 paise predicting a big gain for the party there. Except one southern state (which he did not name), BJP should do well in the other southern states, he added.

The Modi factor dominates the nation and hence one should not be surprised if the BJP crosses the tally of 300+ seats, he said, adding that out of the 542 seats, 42 were likely to go to Independents and other small parties.

"When we research, one person speaks in favour of the Congress while nine speak of the Modi factor. This forms the base of our result," he noted.

Speaking on Rajasthan, he said, "It is very strange that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot could not find any star campaigner for his son in Jodhpur and hence had to make his own efforts. The differences between Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot also became evident when the latter did not go to campaign for Vaibhav and only went for his office inauguration."

(The writer can be contacted at archana.s@ians.in)

-- IANS

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