Overconfidence could harm BJP in LS polls: Sharad Pawar

He suggested that in 2004, the BJP lost despite having a “towering personality” like Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its leader. He said BJP lost its way in the “feel good” and “India shining” talk and failed to realise how Manmohan Singh became Prime Minister.

Scotching speculation that he would like to become a Prime Minister in the case of a hung verdict, he said that his party was contesting a total of 31 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, including 21 in Maharashtra.

“Is it not irrational politics to think of the moon with such a minuscule strength?”, he shot back to a query in this regard.  He steered clear of questions as to how Modi would be as Prime Minister, saying that it is not proper to talk about individuals. He said that he knows Modi for long, but was unsure whether he was Prime Minister material.

“The highlight of this election is that for the first time someone is being projected as PM candidate and it is also for the first time, that the speeches of this PM candidate are available for people to hear all over the country as they are telecast live.

“Even prime ministers have not been so lucky with their speeches. The media management is being felt intensely,” Pawar remarked.