‘No Doubt Modi Will Return in 2024’: UPA-era Bureaucrat TKA Nair Says PM vs Rahul ‘A Fight of Unequals’

United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-era bureaucrat TKA Nair, who was the principal secretary to ex-PM Manmohan Singh for two tenures, in an interview to the New Indian Express, said that there was “no doubt" that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would return to power in 2024.

“I keep saying that his greatest strength is the Opposition," he told the publication.

On the opposition alliance, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nair said that “INDIA was full of contradictions", adding that it could be “a herculean task to make people sit together and talk". However, he added that “Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar can bring people together".

When asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s position in the political scenario, Nair said he was “still evolving".

Commenting on the 2024 fight between Modi and Gandhi, Nair said that it was a “fight between unequals". He added that even in a scenario where Gandhi turns out to be a much better leader, the “composition of the opposition group is such that Gandhi would not be able to handle them effectively".

In a recent interview with Moneycontrol, Modi had said, “In 2014, nobody knew Modi and yet they voted me in with such a huge mandate. Ten years on, they’ve seen a little bit of Modi everywhere — in the Chandrayaan Mission, in my recent visit to the US. Now that they know me well, I have no doubt that the people will choose correctly again."

Commenting on the alliance, Modi had recently said that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was organic, while the Opposition’s was merely an “assembled unit" trying to unite.

The BJP is confident of a historic mandate in 2024, given the prime minister’s popularity is at an all-time high along with people’s urge for a stable and strong government.

The BJP is confident of a historic mandate in 2024, given the prime minister’s popularity is at an all-time high along with people’s urge for a stable and strong government. There have been many successes for the country, like the Chandrayaan-3 mission, Aditya LI mission towards the Sun, the G20 Presidency and the PM’s successful foreign visits to the US and France among other countries. With the PM having a lot to say about India’s successes on the global stage, the BJP feels people won’t trust an unstable coalition alliance like INDIA.