Former CBI director M Nageshwar Rao made a startling claim that the BJP will fall short of a majority in the ensuing 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He shared a data sheet with the projected seats likely to be secured by the party this year.
"BJP in all likelihood may fall short of simple majority," Rao wrote on X sharing the data which predicts the BJP to not win a single seat in nine states and union territories.
According to the data, the BJP will not win even one seat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu.
Manipur, which has been a thorn in BJP's side will present only a single seat to the party, a pattern seen in seven other states and UTs, according to the forecast.
Put together, the data purportedly by 'India Intelligence Initiative' with an overall variation of ± 10 per cent, and shared by the ex-CBI chief forecasts the BJP to secure 227 seats in the 2024 elections, falling some way short of the majority mark in the 543 seat Lok Sabha.
Only in Uttar Pradesh (50), Madhya Pradesh (26), West Bengal (20), Rajasthan (20), and Gujarat (20), the BJP is projected to have secured a good number of seats.
However, the veracity of the data is questionable as Pratidin Time has not been able to find the said report in the public domain. As such, the decision to add authenticity to it by sharing the data under his designation as the former director of the apex investigating agency in the country raises more queries than answers.
With a history of majoritarian stance, the retired IPS officer has often been reportedly found aligning his ideology to that of the ruling party. However, the timing of his post, which was done on May 2 ahead of the third phase of polling on May 5 and with four more phases to go, is enveloped with an essence of doubt.
As such, questions arise over Rao's latest allegiances as well as whether he is trying to shrug off the 'pro-BJP' tag. Nevertheless, the data shared by him paints an intriguing picture.
Nageshwar Rao, a 1986 batch Indian Police Services (IPS) officer hailing from the Odisha cadre, has had a distinguished career. Beginning as a Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) in Talcher, Odisha, in 1989-90, Rao showcased his resolute and stern law enforcement abilities.
On October 23, 2018, Rao assumed the role of interim director at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This appointment followed the sidelining of CBI chief Alok Verma and his deputy, special director Rakesh Asthana, due to internal conflicts.
In an official announcement, the appointments committee, headed by the Prime Minister, designated Nageshwar Rao, a joint director within the agency, as the acting head of the CBI, effective immediately.
