In Modi's 'Mission 400', A Focus On Southern States And 129 Lok Sabha Seats

The opinion polls for the Lok Sabha elections have been announced and one thing was common in most of them- they predicted a return of the BJP government. However, when it came to the party's 'Mission 400', a majority of the opinion poll predicted that the NDA might not win 400 seats. The BJP is also well aware of the challenges it faces in achieving the target of 400 seats and thus is doing every possible calculation to reach the ambitious target. Southern India will play a crucial role in PM Narendra Modi's 'Mission 400' and thus the BJP has prepared a mega-plan to conquer the fortress of the South.

Modi's South Sojourn 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-day-long thunderous tour of South India has begun. PM Modi is touring the 5 southern states - Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka with an aim to make BJP win. 129 Lok Sabha seats in these five states will be covered by PM Modi in 120 hours. Prime Minister Modi held a roadshow in Malkajgiri, Telangana on Friday after visiting Tamil Nadu and Kerala. From Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, he claimed that this time there is a wave of BJP in the South and this wave will shatter the arrogance of the opposition.

400 Seats Via South

Just before the announcement of Lok Sabha dates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sounded the poll bugle from the Southern states. The BJP has worked hard in states like Telangana and Tamil Nadu to increase its vote share. If the voters of South India open their doors to the BJP, only then the NDA can cross the 400-seat target. To achieve this, PM Modi covered the political ground of a total of 76 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Telangana within just 7 hours or 420 minutes in the last two days. 

Learnings From 2019 For The BJP

Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats but the BJP did not win a single seat in the 2019 elections and its vote share remained around 4%. Similarly, there are 20 seats in Kerala but the BJP failed to open its account there but received 13% of the votes. There are 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana and the party had won 4 of them with a vote share of 20%. Andhra Pradesh has 25 Lok Sabha seats and the saffron party did not win a single seat in 2019 and only received 1% of the votes. However, it won 25 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka and managed to compensate for the losses in Andhra, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. With the Modi settng a target of 400 seats, it now wants to make its presence felt in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Without South, 'Mission 400' may go north. Therefore, the BJP has also forged alliance in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to improve its winning chances. In Tamil Nadu, the BJP has got support from Tamil actor R. Sarath Kumar's Akila Indiya Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) and TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). In Karnataka, the BJP has got support from the JDS while in Andhra Pradesh, the TDP and Jana Sena have joined the NDA.