No Modi wave this time, but a tsunami: Prathap Simha

Bengaluru, Mar 27: Prathap Simha of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be facing a re-election from the prestigious Mysuru-Kodagu constituency. He will be up against C H Vijayashankar of the Congress.

In the 2014, he won from the constituency as a debutant by defeating A H Vishwanath of the Congress. Many attributed the victory to a combination of the Modi wave and youth power.

He says that in the rural areas of his constituency, the people are convinced about the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In this interview with OneIndia, Simha says that he not bothered about a Modi wave missing, because this time there is a Modi tsunami.

How different are these elections compared to 2014 in the absence of a wave

In 2014, if there was a wave, this time there is a tsunami. The victory of the BJP is certain.

There are questions to answer this time, unlike in 2014. Is it easy convincing the voter?

In 2014, we had to convince the public about the good work done by Narendra Modi in 2014. This time, the work is out there for the people to see. The many schemes implemented by the Union Government have made a big difference in the lives of the people. This is helping all of us a great deal.

Can you elaborate?

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana has gone down well with the farming community. The Ujwala scheme and Pradhan Mantri Was Yojana too have made a big difference in the lives of the people. Further electricity has been provided to crores of people. Several crores of people have benefited from the various other schemes such as Ayushman Bharat.

Pakistan has been on the narrative. How is that panning out for the BJP?

The air strike at Balakot has shown our resolve to act against Pakistan. The people are aware of the capabilities of Narendra Modi. Even before we can approach the people, they will come forward and vote for Modi.

What about rural India?

I have personally visited several rural areas and I can tell you that they are convinced about our leadership.

It is in your constituency that the issue relating to Tipu Jayanti is a hot topic. Is that an issue now?

Let me tell you there are two Congress parties in Karnataka. One is the Congress and the other is the Siddaramaiah Congress. It is Siddaramaiah, who is the father of Tipu Jayanti. The voters are extremely upset about the celebrations. The Congress party will pay for it.

Is the decision to give Tejaswi Surya a ticket from Bangalore South a good decision?

Yes, in my opinion it is a fantastic decision. He will win the constituency and I have no doubt about that. People may say a lot of things, but only the BJP could have identified a candidate for his hard work and talent and given him a ticket. No party has done that.