Anil Antony, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Pathanamthitta on April 26, expressed confidence of a historic mandate for the BJP and its coalition in the ongoing Lok Sabha Election 2024. Antony, after casting his vote in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, highlighted that this is the first time in India’s history that a two-time sitting Prime Minister is seeking re-election for a third term with zero anti-incumbency.
“We are very sure of a historic mandate in Kerala. This is a national election that will decide who will be the PM for the next 5 years, and which party and coalition will be governing this country. This is the first time in India’s history that a two-time sitting PM is going for a third election with zero anti-incumbency,” said Antony, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bid for a third consecutive term.
#WATCH | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: BJP candidate from Pathanamthitta, Anil Antony says, "We are sure of a historic mandate in Kerala, so this is not an election to choose a few MPs in Kerala. This is a national election…This is the first time in India's history where a… pic.twitter.com/bnmYEy7DgM
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024
Antony expressed confidence in the BJP’s prospects, stating that the party would win more than 370 seats, and its coalition over 400 seats.
“13 states are going to polls today. Every single state is seeing huge voting numbers so there is a lot of excitement for the PM vision for India. And Kerala is no exception so we are very sure that we will win more than 370 seats for our party and more than 400 seats for our coalition,” Antony said.
“This time we will create history from Kerala last time we had a double-digit vote share this time we are strongly in contention in double-digit seats and we will win multiple of them and one of them will be definitely the seats I am contesting from is Pathanamthitta,” he added.
#WATCH | Kerala: BJP candidate from Pathanamthitta, Anil Antony shows his inked finger after casting his vote at a polling booth in Thiruvananthapuram.
CPI-M has fielded Thomas Isaac from here. Congress has its sitting MP Anto Antony as its candidate in the constituency.… pic.twitter.com/GI2OZCAy41
— ANI (@ANI) April 26, 2024
Meanwhile, Antony was seen showing his inked finger after casting his vote, symbolising his participation in the electoral process. His competitors in the Pathanamthitta constituency include Thomas Isaac from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the incumbent MP Anto Antony from the Congress party.
Earlier, BJP-led NDA candidate from Thrissur Suresh Gopi casts his vote in Thrissur, Kerala in the second phase of Lok Sabha election 2024 on Friday. After casting his vote, Gopi spoke about the significance of this election and the participation of the people in Kerala.
“You will see the people’s hearts. The nation will see the participation of Kerala in the national development movement,” says Suresh Gopi, NDA candidate from Thrissur, after casting his vote. So the heart will bloom and Thrissur and such other constituencies in the states,” Gopi said.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the UDF won 19 of the 20 seats, and the remaining 1 seat went to LDF. All 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala will go to the polls today. The results will be announced on June 4.
(with inputs from ANI)
