BJP insecure so discussing non-existent aspects of Congress manifesto: Chavan

The Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has turned insecure amid the Lok Sabha elections 2024 and was discussing issues that are not even mentioned in the Congress manifesto former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said on Thursday reported the PTIPrithviraj Chavan was in Maharashtras Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to campaign for Chandrakant Khaire Lok Sabha candidate of the Shiv Sena UBT which is an ally of the Congress and the NCPSP in the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVAThe BJP raises the slogan of abki baar 400 paar but is insecure That is why it is discussing issues to attack the Congress that are not even mentioned in our manifesto We have said we will give Rs 1 lakh to poor women annually Now this is something the BJP will not discuss he said as per the PTIQueried about merger of parties Chavan asserted people in Maharashtra generally do not like the presence of too many outfitsEven I think small political parties will merge with other parties post Lok Sabha elections 2024 Prithviraj Chavan claimed though he refused to name the parties he was referring to according to the PTIBrushing aside the impact of the All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen AIMIM in the polls in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Prithviraj Chavan claimed Muslims will vote for MVAIn the 2019 polls the AIMIM was in alliance with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi That does not exist anymore he pointed outVoting in 3 phases unsettled PM Modi hes openly mentioning Muslims community in speeches Sharad PawarMeanwhile the NCP SP chief Sharad Pawar on Thursday said that voting in the first three phases of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections has unsettled Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he has openly started mentioning Muslim community in his speeches reported the PTITalking to reporters in Satara of western Maharashtra Pawar elaborated on his merger with the Congress remark saying that several parties have an ideology that is similar to that of the grand old partyAsked about his assessment of the Lok Sabha elections after the completion of three phases the former Union minister said It seems that voting in all these three phases is unsettling for Modi and the reason for saying this is that after these phases PM Modi has changed his toneHe has started making a mention of Muslim community openly in his speeches It seems he thinks that the situation would change by bringing in communal thoughts It is my observation that some people in his party think that as the phases complete his position is getting in danger he saidAsked about his partys possible merger with the Congress Pawar said he never made any such remarkSharad Pawar in an interview to a newspaper said recently that in the next couple of years several regional parties will associate more closely with the Congress or even merge with itElaborating on it he said Take the example of our party NCP From foundation till today NCP and Congress have been working together The ideology of both the parties is rooted in the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru So it will be no surprise to see an increase in sentiments among parties that share an ideology similar to that of the Congress coming together and working more closely with each otherwith PTI inputs