New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram’s “admission” of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a formidable political force on Friday, has been lapped up by the party’s IT cell chief to ridicule the grand old party over its “flagging fortunes”.

Amit Malviya, BJP IT cell head, took note of Chidambaram’s remarks and said that the Congress party was scarred by successive electoral defeats and such a “confession” by a senior leader only goes to reflect the sombre mood in the party.

Further adding insult to injury, the BJP leader highlighted that the Congress veteran termed the BJP “formidable” six times in his speech.

Taking to X, Malviya wrote, “P. Chidambaram used the word ‘formidable’ six times to describe the BJP and its election machinery in a speech that lasted less than three minutes.”

Malviya also sought to draw a link between Congress and Pakistan, claiming that the feeling inside the grand old party is “much like Pakistan after its bases were destroyed by the Indian Air Force”.

Chidambaram, speaking at a Delhi event earlier, lamented the “growing divide” in the INDIA bloc and its “decline” as a political force and stated that given the ‘frail’ situation, it looked insurmountable to take on the ruling BJP.

The Congress leader described the BJP as a “formidable force” and not just another party, admitting it was “formidable in many areas”.

Chidambaram, however, was extremely critical of the alleged usurping of power and rights of the country’s vital democratic institutions under BJP rule and said that the 2024 elections have “made the start” for the imminent change that all want to see.

“Two machines control all the machineries of India, from the Election Commission of India to the remotest police station; they can control and capture these institutions,” the former Finance Minister said, in a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

–IANS

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