Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor dubbed BJP's 400-plus target "a complete fantasy" and said after the five phases of polling, the Confidence of Congress has gone up further.
"It was already very clear when BJP started talking about 'Abki Baar 400 Paar' that this was a complete fantasy, the Congress leader said.
He observed that in 2019, because of the Pulwama tragedy and India's response to it in Balakot, conversations around elections switched from "what should have been a referendum on the economic failures of the first term of Mr Modi" and became a national security issue.
"As a result, they maxed out in a number of states...In all those 11 states, those results are impossible to replicate and we are already seeing this very clearly."
The Congress leader claimed that the strongholds of BJP have shown minimal turnout and a significant drop in voting figures.
However, according to him, the Congress candidates and the INDIA bloc attracted enthusiasm and voting was carried out in large numbers.
"Our confidence has gone up even further," he said.
Further, he said Rahul Gandhi is unquestionably the most popular leader of the Congress party.
"As far as Raebareli is concerned, it has been in the family's possession since 1952 when Feroze Gandhi was first elected from there. When his mother (Sonia Gandhi) decided that she had reached a stage where she wanted to move aside to the Rajya Sabha, it was fitting that legacy should be taken over by the son."
He said the ongoing elections are not about the past but about the future. "We are concerned about the future of 140 crore Indians," he added.
