Narendra Modi is chief minister of average state: P Chidambaram

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram sought to take the wind out of 'Gujarat Model' saying Narendra Modi is Chief Minister of an average state and the model being propagated by him was "exaggerated and boastful".

"Gujarat is an average state. It has neither the best performance, nor the worst performance. It lies somewhere in the middle," Chidambaram said on Saturday while dismissing BJP's pitch of Gujarat model as "exaggerated and boastful".

Chidambaram, who gave detailed statistics to show that it was not all milk and honey in the Modi-run state, said that it ranked fifth in the Gross State Domestic Product compounded annual growth rate.

He said Gujarat ranks 15th in rural poverty head count in 2011-12, ninth in Human Development Index, 22nd in the coverage of roads in 2011 and 10th in Households with electricity.

He also said that it ranks 12th in the literacy rate, 15^th in the social sector expenditure.

"Modi is Chief Minister of an average state," the Finance Minister remarked when asked whether he would call Modi Chief Minister of a "failed state or an average state" given its performance on several indices.

He, however, deftly avoided a question about Robert Vadra model of development being alleged by BJP while targeting the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi.

"If anybody wants to call these models and compare them. I wish them well. But the real question is whether there is any model called a Gujarat model".

Responding to questions about Congress leaders giving different figures of Modi's election expenditure with Anand Sharma putting it at Rs 10,000 crore and Kapil Sibal at Rs 5,000 crore, he remarked in a lighter vein that he would put it in the middle at Rs 7,000 crore.

He, however, hastened to add that there was no evidence. "The evidence is only observational evidence," he said, adding anyone who has an experience of politics can guess after visiting a rally as to how much money has been spent.

He was asked whether any inquiry could be instituted into the huge funds pumped for campaigning and where they have come from.

Congress also sought to dispel the notion of propping up a Third Front government to keep Narendra Modi out of power, insisting that the UPA-III would be in place after the polls.

"We are going into the elections with an intention to win and form a government. I do not know what he has said," said Chidambaram.

He was asked at the AICC briefing whether Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's remarks that Congress could form the next government by joining hands with "the third front" was an admission of having lost the polls.

"I don't see any great possibility of Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister. Even if he gets more seats than us, he would not get support of the regional parties...As the other alternative, Congress and third front can form the government. We will try to form a secular government," Chavan had said.

Chidambaram feigned ignorance about any remarks by Congress leaders when he was told that many of them have admitted in private that the party could be getting around 120 seats and hence would have to work out some "secular" alternative to stop Modi.

Congress leaders have been insisting in private that a UPA-III government is more than a possibility after the Lok Sabha elections with the BJP PM candidate antagonising the regional satraps like Jayalalithaa and Mamata Banerjee.

The assessment in Congress circles is that the opposition alliance will not be able to garner more than 200 seats, leaving an opportunity for the Congress to cobble up a coalition with inclusion of new allies.

"Modi has antagonised all possible allies, may it be Jayalalithaa, Mamata Banerjee or Naveen Patnaik in the belief that the Prime Ministership is coming his way after May 16 when the results are out. But the reality is bound to be different," a senior party leader maintained.

The talk of UPA-III was also a signal to the minorities that Congress was still in the electoral game and needed their total support.

A section of Congressmen claim that party could be in the game of forming the next government if it wins a minimum of 120 plus seats and the BJP was restricted below 200.

With stability weighing heavily on its mind, Congress will go in for the search of new allies to form a UPA-III government and has no intention to support a third front government, is the refrain of leaders of the ruling party.

The "no Third Front government" cries in the Congress are becoming louder as the party has become wiser by the experiments of 1990-91 and 1996 during which it gave support from outside to the governments led by Chandra Shekhar, HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral.