Congress' Vikramaditya Singh confident of INDIA bloc forming govt, says "BJP's 400 par will never be fulfilled"

Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 19 (ANI): Vikramaditya Singh, Congress candidate from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha seat, expressed confidence in the opposition alliance, INDIA bloc forming the government at the Centre and claimed that the dream of BJP's "400 paar" will never be fulfilled.
The Congress leader said that the situation in the country is "changing," adding that BJP's "400 paar" is a mere statement.
"This '400 Paar' is a mere statement and dream. This will never be fulfilled. The situation is changing in the country. They (BJP) are wiped out from the South and halved in the North. Now, it seems impossible that the BJP will form its government. INDIA bloc will form the government," Singh told ANI on Sunday.
In her maiden bid for membership of the Lower House, she faces a formidable challenge in the form of Congress heavyweight and the son of late former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya Singh.
Emphasizing the Prime Minister's call for a '400-paar' target for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in an exclusive interview with ANI, said that the party's aim to secure more than 400 seats is to bring stability to the country's political landscape.
"Yes, we want to win 400 seats in the LS polls to bring stability to politics in the country. We want 400 seats to protect our borders, to make India the third-largest economy in the world, and to ensure that a few poor people who are yet to get the benefits, and we have to fulfil it. We want 400 seats because clean water is yet to reach every household, and there is a lot of work to be done in the field of natural farming in this country. We want 400 seats because we want to provide free treatment of up to Rs 5 lakh to every senior citizen aged above 70 years of age," Shah said.
Vikramaditya Singh is pitted against actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut of BJP, who is in her maiden bid for membership in the Lower House.
The Mandi constituency holds symbolic significance for the Congress, as it is considered a bastion of the Virbhadra family. The seat is currently held by Pratibha Devi Singh, the late leader's widow. She wrested the seat for the Congress in the bye-election that was held following the demise of then-BJP MP Ram Swaroop Sharma.
Polling in Himachal, which is scheduled for June 1, will not only pit candidates vying for Lok Sabha membership from four seats but also elect members for six assembly seats that fell vacant following the resignation and switchover of dissident Congress lawmakers. The BJP, which won all four Lok Sabha constituencies in the state in the 2019 elections, is eyeing an encore this time. (ANI)