Cong's Guj team will ensure it wins more seats than BJP in LS polls: Rajeev Satav

New Delhi: The Congress’ new Gujarat team will ensure that it wins more seats than the ruling BJP on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home turf in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party’s state in-charge Rajeev Satav has said. Led by Modi, the BJP had won from all the 26 parliamentary seats in Gujarat in the 2014 General elections.

The Congress, however, will seek to carry forward the momentum from its impressive outing in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls to see to it that the BJP does not “repeat” its 2014 election performance in the state, Satav said. The BJP managed to retain power in Gujarat by winning 99 seats in the last year assembly polls, while the Congress increased its tally to 77 from 61 seats in the 2012 elections.

The 43-year-old MP from Maharashtra also stressed that his priority will be to strengthen the party organisation in Gujarat along with new state Congress chief Amit Chavda and Opposition leader in the state assembly Paresh Dhanani.

Both Chavda and Dhanani are contemporaries of Satav. “It will be a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP…We will ensure that the Congress will get more seats than the BJP in the next general elections,” said Satav, who was appointed in-charge of the party’s Gujarat affairs last Friday.

The Congress’ during its campaign for the General elections will highlight the alleged poor performance of the BJP-led state and central governments, he said. Satav said the Congress is raising issues concerning people and undertaking mass contact initiatives for the polls.

“The BJP has not been able to keep promises made to the people, while each of our MLAs is highlighting issues concerning people,” he said. Satav also said party president Rahul Gandhi had given a glimpse of his “will break wall between party workers and leaders” statement in Gujarat by appointing Dhanani and Chavda to their respective posts.

Gandhi had made the statement during the recently held Congress plenary session in an apparent bid to energise the party workers. “Both Dhanani and Chavda are more of workers than leaders. They are grounded and are always ready to listen to the people. I am sure this will reflect positively on our performance in the next general elections,” Satav added.