Six time parliamentarian and Harvard economist, Subramanian Swamy, in an interview with HuffPost India, has spoken about his bittersweet relationship with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) performance in the upcoming elections, possibility of post-poll alliances, the places where BJP went wrong among other things.
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In a bold statement he said that if BJP doesn’t get 220-230 seats then Modi may not be re-elected as the PM. “..the extra 30 or 40 — if they (NDA alliance) say no, we can’t accept him (Modi). (Naveen) Patnaik has gone on record to say that he does not deserve a second term, and if we are going to bring in Mayawati, she has not disclosed her mind.”
He further said that BJP would come to power but with a lesser majority than before and will have to enter into post-poll alliances. However, if Modi promises to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya then there wouldn’t be a need for a coalition government. “If he goes there (Ayodhya) and says ‘I pledge that I will I get this built in my next term,’ everything else will be swept away,” said Swamy.
He even boldly accepted that had it not been for the Balakot strikes, Modi would have lost credibility as the economy has crumbled in his regime with GST being the biggest disaster. “..For the election, I don’t think one needs to be bothered about economics at all. This — economy, unemployment — this is all westernization. In no time, after we took that (air) strike against Pakistan, our ratings went up. Otherwise, we were running at 160. Now, we are definitely within reach of the majority. This is because of tough action against Pakistan, dismissing the Kashmir government.”, Swamy said.
He then went on to accuse the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for economy’s mismanagement and called him “incompetent.” He further expressed his interest to become the Finance Minister as he is well-qualified for the post.
Swamy then spoke about his issues with Modi and his way to rule. He expressed disapproval of not giving him a post in spite of serving the RSS-BJP for so many years. Swamy said, “The main problem is his (Modi’s) extraordinarily unhealthy centralization of decision making. And the utter disregard that party president (Amit Shah) has for the worker. He was a machine man, like some guy from Chicago — you know, efficient. When the going is good, he produces results. When the going is bad, we have this problem. Modi is also highly inaccessible.”
While Swamy is sure about BJP’s victory, he is sceptical about Modi’s second term as a PM. As an alternative, he has given the name of Nitin Gadkari saying that he is well competent for the post.
In an unusual statement, coming from a party member, Swamy said that people are faced with lack of alternatives (in this election) which will bring BJP and Modi back.
Rajya Sabha MP, Swamy, has been an unapologetic proponent of Hindu nationalism and is infamous for making inflammatory statements against Indian Muslims.