Mamata, Naidu will lose ground in their states: Jaitley

Union Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday that Mamata Banerjee and Chandrababu Naidu believe that they are the 'anchors" of the Opposition but when results are declared on May 23, they would have realised that they "have lost large ground" in their own states.

In a blog post, Jaitley also said that the "Modi mandate" could be larger than 2014 and the Prime Ministerial contest is almost becoming a one-horse race.

He said the "coalition of rivals" lasts only a few months and the electorate is clear that it wants a five-year government and not a five-month one.

"It is thus confronted with the choice of a Modi vs. chaos. Obviously, the electorates' wisdom has to be trusted when he makes a choice," he said.

The BJP leader said that Congress was unlikely to see any significant increase its tally of 2014 and the Aam Aadmi Party may not win any seat.

Jaitley said Congress President Rahul Gandhi has reduced it to a "double digit" party and "Congressmen are hoping against hope if they can break the double digit barrier".

Attacking other opposition leader, he said: "Their level of ambition is hopelessly inadequate. Mayawati is fully determined to throw her hat in the ring. Mamata Banerjee and Chandrababu Naidu believe that they are the 'Sutradhars' (anchors) of the Opposition. KCR dreams of a non-BJP, non-Congress coalition of parties.

"None of these hopeful leaders have been able to understand the real trend on the ground. As the results get declared, two of the contenders - Mamata Didi and Chandrababu Naidu - would have realised that they have lost a large ground in their own states," he added.

Jaitley said voters want responsible governance, not political acrobatics by the leaders they trust.

--IANS

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