Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to voice his opinions on the election results and said parties should move beyond criticising Modi and actually offer voters an alternative agenda.
Omar Abdullah. Credit: Reuters
New Delhi: As the results of the assembly elections come in, with the BJP looking set to win big in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to vent about the party’s sweeping victories. Adullah also provided his own take on what must be done to cut down on the BJP’s soaring popularity.
He started off by saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only political leader with “pan India acceptability” in the country.
In a nutshell there is no leader today with a pan India acceptability who can take on Modi & the BJP in 2019.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 11, 2017
While questioning how political analysts across the country missed the “tsunami” of support for the BJP in UP, Abdullah also predicted a BJP victory in the 2019 general elections, saying it only made sense to plan for 2024 now.
How the hell did almost all the experts/analysts miss this wave in UP? It's a tsunami not a ripple in a small pond.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 11, 2017
At this rate we might as well forget 2019 & start planning/hoping for 2024.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 11, 2017
However, Abdullah was still optimistic about finding a way to beat the BJP. Citing Goa, Manipur and Punjab as example of the saffron party’s fallibility, he said that opposition parties needed to go beyond criticising the BJP and actually providing voters with a “positive agenda” on what other parties could do better.
I've said this before & I'll say it again the voter needs to be given an alternative agenda that is based on what we will do better.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 11, 2017
Abdullah is also expecting the BJP’s UP victory to play a role in future appointments such as the choice for vice president and Rajya Sabha members as well.