Opposition alliance gathering of opportunists: Mahesh Sharma

Kolkata: BJP leader and Union minister Mahesh Sharma has described the “mahagathbandhan” of non-BJP parties as a gathering of “opportunists” who have no ideology of patriotism, growth or development and are interested only in “their pound of flesh”.

Mr Sharma also called them “private limited companies” unable to stand with the expectations of people. In an interview to PTI, he said that the leaders fighting BJP do not want a strong government at the Centre, so that each one of them can have an opportunity to sit on the chair of the prime minister. More than 20 regional parties had come together during a rally hosted by the Trinamul Congress in Kolkata in January, vowing to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party in Lok Sabha polls.

More such rallies were planned as a non-BJP front of regional parties started taking shape. But the idea tapered off amid signs of differences among the leaders over seat-sharing and PM candidate.

Several regional leaders, including N Chandrababu Naidu, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, however have refuted any suggestion of contradiction among themselves and some of them have said they will decide their PM candidate together based on the election results on May 23.

They have also said there are several leaders who can become the Prime Minister.

“Mahagathbandhan is a cluster of opportunists. There is no ideology in this so-called mahagathbandhan,” Mr Sharma said, referring to the coming together of the regional parties.

“I do not see any ideology of rashtravaad (patriotism) or any ideology of growth and development. All the leaders in this mahagathbandhan want to draw their pound of flesh,” he said.

The BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, which sends the highest number of 80 members to Lok Sabha, said people know this time they would be voting for the wider interest of the country.

This election, he asserted, is about a government which can take India “50 years ahead”, adding there’s a “sea change” in the vision of the people who want a stable government and an able leader.

“People are looking for a strong, decisive, hard working and honest prime minister who can work above casteism and above family politics. That leader is Modi ji,” he said.

Mr Sharma expressed confidence the BJP will win a “thumping victory” in the general election and more than 22 seats in West Bengal. Asked whether Modi was holding rallies in Bengal to make up for losses in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, Sharma said the eastern state was a matter of “concern” for his party.

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