It will be "impossible" for the BJP to replicate its 2019 electoral triumph in 2024, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said, adding it is "conceivable" that the ruling party can lose "50 seats" in the Lok Sabha. The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who was speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival here on Friday, said while he concedes the BJP's dominance, it is also a fact that they have lost many states and them losing the central government is not impossible.

"If you look at how well they (the BJP) did in 2019, they have essentially had every seat in Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan; or all but one seat in Bihar, MP (Madhya Pradesh), Maharashtra; and 18 seats in Bengal. "Now, all of those results are impossible to replicate and the BJP dropping below the majority in 2024 is entirely possible," Tharoor argued during a session titled 'India@75: A walk through the Democratic Institutions'. Terming the Pulwama attacks and the Balakot strike, which he said led to a "tremendous wave" at the last minute -- a "freak" that won't be repeated in 2024 -- the 66-year-old said a drop of 50 seats for the BJP and gain for the opposition parties is entirely "conceivable". However, on the important question of whether the opposition parties, which Tharoor predicts will trump the BJP from its majority position, will stay together is something that he said is "impossible to answer".