‘In 1989, Rajiv Gandhi…’: Sachin Pilot on why Narendra Modi shouldn't form govt

Congress leader Sachin Pilot has claimed that the Lok Sabha election 2024 results indicated that people have rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and therefore, Narendra Modi should not try to form the government.

Follow- Election results live updates

“The BJP should introspect. When the 1989 election happened, Rajiv Gandhi got around 200 seats. He was asked to form the government, but he refused saying he had not got the mandate. Then, the next largest party was asked to form the government,” Sachin Pilot said while interacting with reporters on Thursday.

The Rajasthan Congress leader added that the current election results were against the BJP and NDA.

ALSO READ- BJP-led NDA meeting today, Chandrababu Babu asks all TDP MPs to attend it

The ruling BJP won 240 seats, falling short of the majority mark of 272. However, its pre-poll coalition partners in the NDA, including N Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), have pledged support for Modi 3.0. The NDA government is likely to take oath on Sunday.

Voters rejected ‘Mandir Masjid’ campaign: Sachin Pilot

"People didn't accept BJP's campaign of 'Mandir Masjid', Hindu-Muslim issues, and 'Mangalsutra'. The central government adopted an attitude, especially against the opposition, targeting them, imprisoning elected chief ministers, and misusing agencies like the ED and CBI. All these actions have been rejected by the people," Pilot said.

ALSO READ- Rahul Gandhi to appear before Bengaluru court today. What's the defamation case filed by Karnataka BJP?

In Rajasthan, the BJP won 14 out of 25 seats, while the Congress secured eight seats. The CPI (M), Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, and Bharat Adivasi Party won one seat each.

"The Congress, whose numbers have now doubled, was better understood by the public in terms of our manifesto, our narrative, and our campaign. The double-engine has failed in Lucknow (UP), Jaipur (Rajasthan), and Haryana. I am thankful to the workers, leaders, and candidates of Congress," Pilot added.

(Inputs from PTI)