Seats reduced, not Modi govt’s strength and effectiveness: Chidambaram

New Delhi: A statement from Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram conceding that the Modi government's strength and governance style remain unchanged even after BJP’s tally reduced to 240 went viral on Thursday.

This comes months after the Congress veteran asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step down owing to what he termed as ‘resounding defeat’ in 2024 general elections.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP secured a massive 303 seats, leading to a government with a clear majority. However, in the 2024 elections, the BJP managed to win only 240 seats, falling short of a simple majority and necessitating coalition support to form the government. 

Now in its sixth month, the Modi government's strength and governance style remain unchanged despite the significant reduction in seats, Chidambaram said.

“Nothing has changed after the elections of 2024. CBI, ED, EC, Income Tax all are functioning in the same way,” Chidambaram said at the launch of senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai’s book ‘2024: The Elections that surprised India’ in New Delhi Tuesday evening.

He said, "Modi Govt with 240 seats is as strong as with 303 seats. There's no change in the way the country is run." 

Chidambaram’s statement that went viral implied that the reduction in seats has had no impact on Modi's administration's operational capacity or policy implementation. 

This acknowledgment that there's "hardly any change" in governance suggest a continuity in policy and administrative approach, despite the altered parliamentary arithmetic. 

Two days after the results of 2024 general elections were out, Chidambaram took to X and said, “In the best traditions of a parliamentary democracy, the prime minister who led his party to a defeat must step down from the leadership

“240 seats (or so) won by the BJP is a resounding defeat for the party which went into the election with 303 seats and set for itself a target of 370 seats

“Mr Narendra Modi has forfeited his right to form a government

“Mr Modi refused to acknowledge that the two topmost concerns of the people were 1) unemployment and 2) inflation

“A government under Mr Modi cannot tackle the twin challenges of unemployment and price rise. Both became worse under the Modi regime. 

“The verdict of the people is that they want a new government to replace the Modi government. All political parties are obliged to respect the wishes of the  people and pave the way for a new government.”

In the best traditions of a parliamentary democracy, the prime minister who led his party to a defeat must step down from the leadership

240 seats (or so) won by the BJP is a resounding defeat for the party which went into the election with 303 seats and set for itself a target…

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) June 4, 2024