Mumbai: The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are nearing the slogovers, with only two rounds of voting left, on 25 May and 1 June.

To gauge the public mood and understand the electoral atmosphere, NDTV brought a special “Battleground” series that saw editor-in-chief Sanjay Pugalia travel to various states and decode the electoral issues on the ground, and political and caste equations.

On Battleground’s finale tonight, foreign minister Dr S Jaishankar gave his prediction on the BJP’s 2024 performance. Pro-incumbency in several states and growing support in areas that are not the BJP's traditional strongholds would ensure that the party beats its 2019 score, Dr Jaishankar said in a special conversation with Sanjay Pugalia.

Asked what number he would choose if he has to place a bet on the BJP's tally in these polls, Dr Jaishankar said he would leave the numbers to experts. "But I can tell you one thing, I had several public interactions in this election. I think the support base in very solid. People have a way of showing pro-incumbency. So I felt there is a pro-incumbency in several states,” he said.

“I can say that the trend in our favour is very positive. On the basis of my experience, I feel the numbers will increase, not decrease," he said. He said the BJP would improve its tally in Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The foreign minister also brushed aside speculation that regional issues could impact the BJP's prospects.

"Local problems will be there but, in the end, when people vote, they will vote on whether they believe in Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Dr Jaishankar said.

The show also featured team lease services vice chairman Manish Sabharwal and former IMF executive director Surjit Bhalla.

“I have never seen such a one-sided election,” Surjit Bhalla said, expressing confidence that the ruling party’s tally would be record-breaking. Asked to guess the BJP’s seats, he suggested “350”.

He said the country had never seen the kind of progress or performance it had seen in the last 10 years. Arguing against the notion that it is a “wave-less election”, Bhalla remarked: “If the BJP wins a vote share of 42-47 per cent, which I have said in my book that it’s possible, then that is a wave.”

Manish Sabharwal said that the past 70 years had seen the delivery of democracy but not prosperity. “The last 25 years for India are very different from the next 25 years,” he said.