NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress claimed BJP would be defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by a united opposition that would join hands for a “one-to-one” fight in each constituency and added that the ruling party had already lost the confidence of its allies and the people.

Participating in the debate on the no-trust motion, TMC MP Saugata Roy said the motion was moved by BJP’s estranged ally TDP while NDA partner Shiv Sena , which is part of the government at both the Centre and state, had boycotted it. Another former ally BJD staged a walkout even before the debate started. “This shows that no-confidence has already taken place,” he said.

Roy said in the recent Lok Sabha by-elections, BJP had lost most seats and was also “defeated” in the Karnataka assembly polls. “I can tell you that BJP is going to lose the 2019 Lok Sabha polls as there will be one-to-one fight everywhere,” he added.

Roy accused the PM of lowering public discourse through his speeches and claimed the announcements on farmers’ welfare programmes were nothing but “eye-wash”. He claimed that due to demonetisation, 25 lakh jobs were “wiped out” and in return the government could detect just Rs 16,000 crore in black money.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the Modi government, which claimed that it had electrified 18,000 villages, should say who electrified the 6.23 lakh villages before that. “Was there no electricity produced in the last 70 years. Then who electrified 6.23 lakh villages?” he asked, adding that the Modi government “talks about Adanis and Ambanis but has yet to do anything worthwhile for farmers”.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said if the government had kept businessmen, farmers and youth happy, the country would have prospered. “Farmers are unhappy because prices of fertilisers and seeds have increased while the youth have no employment,” he said.

Tariq Anwar of NCP alleged that the Modi government had failed to fulfil promises made to the people. Noting that inflation had risen and 31 economic offenders had fled the country after taking loans from banks, he said, “Modi government misused Enforcement Directorate, income tax department and CBI.”

Mohammad Salim of CPM mocked the government over its “unfulfilled promises”. Reading out from BJP’s 2014 Lok Sabha manifesto, Salim said while Modi promised to bring back black money, “that has not happened. Instead, Swiss banks have seen money from India rising by 50%”.

