NDA will win under Modi's leadership; 'none' has accepted Rahul as leader: Paswan

Hailing the "strong leadership" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said the NDA will win the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with a "thumping majority" as he termed the opposition unity in the recent bypolls as "short-lived".

Stating that the opposition was in the "weakest position" on the leadership issue, Paswan said he wondered if anyone would accept the leadership of Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

"The leadership issue in the NDA is crystal clear and it would fight the 2019 general elections under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he told PTI-Bhasha.

The unity or adjustment for one or two seats was easy, but it's difficult for political parties to accomodate their ranks and leaders for an entire state or the country, he said on the recent bypoll victories of the unified opposition.

The opposition unity in the by-elections will be short-lived, he asserted.

Paswan's remarks come days after he urged the NDA leaders to desist from making off-the-cuff remarks and be "more tactful" during elections, in the wake of the party's poor showing in the March bypolls in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), a BJP ally in the NDA, had also expressed concern over some leaders of the ruling coalition at the Centre occasionally making remarks that created an impression of the alliance being against certain sections of the society.

Questioning the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Paswan asked: "Who will be their leader? Rahul Gandhi ko kya koi neta manta hai (Does anyone accept Rahul Gandhi as a leader)?"
He said: "I want a strong opposition to be in place for our democracy to be strong. But, unfortunately the talk of the opposition unity is a farce as during the elections there is bound to be a big fight among all the parties on the issue of seat distribution."