NEW DLEHI: As the voting for the sixth and the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha elections concluded on Saturday, the Congress party exuded confidence that the Opposition alliance INDIA bloc is set to get a clear mandate to form the government after June 4.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that the INDIA alliance has already crossed the halfway mark of 272 seats and is on course for a tally of over 350 seats. The INDIA alliance has grown from strength to strength since phase one of the elections, he said.
“After polling in Maharashtra, UP, Bihar and now Delhi, we are seeing the incredible chemistry that has been built between coalition partners. The INDIA alliance has already crossed the halfway mark of 272 seats and is on course for a tally of over 350 seats in total. Indian voters have seen through the outgoing PM’s deceptions and manipulations,” said Ramesh.
“Every single ground report is very clear. Hawa badal rahi hai, Aandhi ban rahi hain. The INDIA Janbandhan is set to sweep the NDA away. June 4th is coming,” he wrote.
Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Modi, the Congress leader said that the outgoing PM has extra time to plan his retirement since the BJP cannot even campaign in Haryana and Punjab as they are facing ire from the people there.
“BJP’s campaign is ending early. They cannot even campaign in Haryana and Punjab, and their leaders are being driven out of villages by residents. Farmers’ anger and disillusionment with the Kisaan Virodhi establishment is very palpable,” he wrote.
13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and all four seats in Himachal Pradesh are going to polls in the last and seventh phase on June 1.
Echoing the view, Congress leader Pawan Khera claimed that the BJP is rattled after receiving inputs from their intelligence agencies that the party will be restricted to 180 seats or even below that.
Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark on NDA’s victory, Khera said, "Let the BJP claim. The fact is that their intelligence agencies have told them that they are restricted to 180 (seats) or even below 180. That's why the PM is talking in a language that no other Prime Minister has ever used in this country" he said.
Countering the Opposition’s claims, PM Modi wrote on X that NDA’s numbers are looking better and people have realised that voting for the opposition is futile since INDIA Alliance is coming nowhere close to power.
“I thank all those who have voted in the penultimate phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. NDA’s numbers are looking better. People have realised that since INDI Alliance is coming nowhere close to power, voting for it is futile,” wrote Modi.
Responding to the PM’s remarks, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said that PM’s retirement is coming on June 4th.
“Why this bravado?” he asked.
The Congress party also asserted that its campaign has been centred around ‘Nyay Patra' and Guarantees.
“The slogan of “Khata-Khat” has captured the imagination of the people, to the extent that even the outgoing PM has been forced to respond to it. The announcement of our final guarantee – of doubling the allotment of free foodgrain for each individual under the National Food Security Act – has caught fire in North and East India,” said Ramesh.
Calling the PM ‘delusional’, Ramesh said that voters will teach the leader a lesson in humility.
“As the reality of defeat dawns on the outgoing Prime Minister, he has become increasingly delusional. He has now proclaimed that his birth was not biological, and that he has been sent by the Creator himself. Perhaps he fancies himself as a Godman in his next career. Even his acolytes have taken to the PM’s latest re-branding - Puri candidate Sambit Patra proclaimed that even Lord Jagannath is a “bhakt” of the outgoing PM. The voters of India will teach them both a lesson in humility,” he said..
He also took exception to the alleged inaction on the part of the Election Commission.
“The BJP, with the outgoing PM leading from the front, commits violations of the Model Code of Conduct on a daily basis. The use of religious symbols in polling, advertisements on polling day, videos on social media showing repeat-voting by BJP workers: they have all raised questions about the ECI’s ability to hold the outgoing PM accountable. We also continue to hope for immediate publication of turnout figures as soon as possible after the conclusion of voting. The ECI’s refusal to publish Form 17C publicly is antithetical to ideals of transparency and erodes trust in the election system,” he said.
