'BJP alone will win 350 seats, two from Kerala'; says top Indian economist

NEW DELHI: Indian economic maven Surjit Bhalla believes BJP will achieve a far bigger victory in 2024 than the 2019 landslide win. In an interview allowed to national media, Bhalla prophesized BJP would win anywhere between 330 to 350 seats.

“BJP alone will get nearly 350 seats. The allies will add to perplexing numbers. Compared to the 2019 elections, the BJP will increase their seats by five to seven per cent. Congress will be restricted to just 44 seats.

Money power is the vital one that determines victory, leadership will come only second to it. Both of these factors are favourable to the BJP. The opposition lacks a proper leader who could match the might of PM Modi. If the opposition had chosen a better leader figure, this election would have gone into the annals for being the toughest one.” Said Bhalla.

According to Bhalla, BJP which was a meagre presence in Tamil Nadu will end up grabbing five seats from this election. Bhalla said the saffron party will open its account in Kerala by winning a maximum of two seats. He credits the saffron surge to the efforts made by central government to improve the living standards of citizens. He also pointed out the plummeting unemployment rates in India, which is also a factor that made BJP the first choice of people in the upcoming elections.

Surjit Bhalla is a leading Indian economist, author and columnist with extensive experience in the areas of national and international economic policy. He was also the Executive Director for India at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).