Chennai: The constituents of the opposition alliance INDIA bloc cannot garner a single vote outside their state and were struggling for their survival, Union Commerce and Industry, and Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal said here on Monday. On the political scenario ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu, he said "the air is pregnant with the possibility of an alliance."
"The INDIA bloc is only a new avatar of the UPA. Its constituents including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar cannot add a single vote to anybody's kitty," Goyal told reporters here.
The same was the case with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, TMC which is struggling in its own state, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray whose party will not cross a double-digit mark, Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which is struggling for its own survival will not add to a single vote, he claimed.
"Where will the DMK in Tamil Nadu add the votes? Which votes will add to the Congress anywhere in the country by the DMK," Goyal sought to know. Asked about the possibility of the saffron party allying with the regional parties in the state, he replied "the air is pregnant with the possibility of an alliance."
BJP state president K Annamalai was ensuring more visibility to the party in the state, he said. "I think Tamil Nadu is looking for fresh leadership, looking for leadership beyond old traditional politics which through the years had its relevance at one point of time but over the years lost its charm. We are looking for a whiff of fresh leadership," Goyal added.
People in Tamil Nadu were disenchanted due to the handling of floods and corruption in the state, he said. On Tamil Nadu obtaining commitment for Rs 6 lakh crore investment into the state from several companies at the Global Investors Meet 2024, here, Goyal said steps should be taken to ensure these promises translated into projects.
On Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin recently meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Goyal said anybody could meet Modi. In a lighter vein, he remarked that "even Congress leader Rahul Gandhi can meet the Prime Minister if he wants to." The Union Minister later inaugurated the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra programme at Anna Nagar West Extension here.
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