'No chance' of Congress getting majority; BJP to be less than 160

There is no chance of the Congress getting a majority on its own in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections senior party leader Kapil Sibal has said but asserted that the UPA led by the party is intact and the coalition could be in a position to form the next governmentHad the Congress been sure about getting the majority number of 272 in the Lok Sabha it would have definitely declared Rahul Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidate as he is the undisputed leader in the party he told IANS in an interview hereHe however remained evasive on who could be the Prime Minister if the UPA were to get the majority saying it will be decided by the alliance after the results are declaredSibal a prominent lawyer and former Union Minister was asked why the Congress is reluctant to declare Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidateIf the Congress were to get 272 seats there would be no hesitation he repliedWhen insisted that the Congress could still project Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidate and say that he would be the Prime Minister if the party gets the majority he shot back Without any doubt If we get the majority is there any doubt But there is no question of saying it We know we wont get the majority We know we wont get 272 seats just as we know that the BJP will not get more than 160 seatsWhen pointed out to him that he was making a big statement he responded Why not Of course we will not get the majority There is no chanceSibal was asked again whether he wanted to say that Congress will not get the majority to which he replied We will not get 272 on our own It will be foolish for me to say that And BJP will get less than 160At the same time he said the Congressled UPA will be ahead in the elections and could form the government even as it has to fight out with lsquomahagathbandan an alliance of some Opposition parties in states like Uttar PradeshAsked who could be the Prime Minister if the Congressled UPA gets the majority Sibal said it will be decided by the alliance All that will happen after May 23 when results are declaredQueried if there could be anybody else than Gandhi he said I dont know The alliance will decide It is something that alliance partners will have to decide As far as Congress party is concerned he Rahul is the undisputed leader in the Congress party Lets be clear on thatOn questions regarding the efficacy of the lsquomahagathbandan Sibal said it was never floated by the CongressOur gathbandans are intact Ours is a party which is gathbandan alliance plus All our gathbandans existing prior to 2014 are intact whether it is NCP or DMK We have added two more JDS in Karnataka and CPIM in West BengalWhen pointed out that the Samajwadi Party SP which was earlier with the Congress has drifted away and joined hands with Bahujan Samaj Party BSP Sibal said That is not our fault Our alliance partners are intact We have not let down any of them but we have added our alliance partnersHe said alliance with the Samajwadi Party could have happened if that party had recognised our importance as a national partyBut BSP chief Mayawati consistently opposed it They distributed seats among themselves and said we have left two seats for the Congress How can then there be an allianceCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates