Cong will struggle to cross 50 seats; Rahul fighting from Rae Bareli sensing Wayanad defeat: PM

Bardhaman/Tehatta/Ahamadpur, May 3 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that Congress’ tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an “all-time low”, as the grand old party would struggle to cross even the “half-century” mark in the hustings.

Modi also mocked Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli seat, and said the Congress leader did so after “sensing defeat” in Kerala’s Wayanad, where he is a sitting MP.

Addressing back-to-back rallies in the Bardhaman-Durgapur, Krishnanagar and Bolpur Lok Sabha constituencies, the PM said if Congress is voted to power, it would “snatch” quotas meant for the Scheduled Caste, Dalits and OBCs and give those to its “jihadi vote bank” to pursue the party’s “appeasement politics”.

Modi slammed the opposition bloc INDIA and the Congress for “supporting” the “vote jihad” comments made by a candidate of the Samajwadi Party (SP), an ally of the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh.

“There is no need for opinion polls or exit polls, as I had talked about their (Congress) defeat long back in Parliament. When their senior leader quit her Lok Sabha seat and entered Parliament through Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, it was evident they sensed defeat,” he said, in an apparent dig at Sonia Gandhi.

“Now, the ‘shehzada’ of Congress, who went to Wayanad after losing the Amethi seat, is also contesting from Rae Bareli. He knows he will lose Wayanad this time,” Modi said.

He said Rahul Gandhi should not be afraid and “keep running away”.

“I had said earlier that the ‘prince’, after the polling in Wayanad, would look for another seat, due to fear of defeat in that constituency. Now, he had to run away from Amethi and choose Rae Bareli. They go around and ask people not to feel afraid. I would tell them the same thing – don’t be afraid and don’t run away,” the prime minister said.

The Congress on Friday ended the suspense over Amethi and Rae Bareli, announcing his candidature from the seat held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades.

Rahul Gandhi had lost from the adjoining Amethi constituency in 2019 but won from Wayanad – a seat he is contesting this time as well.

“The Congress’ tally in the Lok Sabha polls will be an all-time low. Let the Congress try as much as it wants, but the party won’t be able to cross the half-century mark this time. They would struggle to get even 50 seats,” Modi asserted.

The grand old party’s lowest tally in the Lok Sabha polls was in 2014 when it bagged just 44 seats. In 2019, it managed 52 seats.

“Can the TMC by winning 15 seats across the country, the Congress by getting less than 50 seats or the Left Front, which has lost its support base, win the elections and form a stable government? The answer is no. Only the BJP-led NDA can win the polls and form a stable government,” he said.

The prime minister also challenged the Congress to give in writing that it would not amend the constitution to provide reservations based on religion.

“Our constitution explicitly states that the government of India must not provide reservations based on religion. The Congress wants to do the same as they are angry with the OBCs, Dalits and the tribals because they supported Modi,” he said.

Modi said he has been challenging the Congress on three points for the last 10 days, but it has remained silent.

“My first challenge is – Congress and the INDI alliance should give assurance to the country in writing that they will not make any changes in the Constitution or give reservations based on religion. My second challenge is – they should promise the country in writing that they will not snatch the reservations of SC/ST and OBCs and divide those based on religion.

“My third challenge is they should give in writing that wherever their state governments are in power, reservations will not be given to Muslims based on religion by slashing the OBC quota,” he said. Modi also said the “game of vote jihad” has been silently continuing in the country for decades. “The royal family of the Congress, the TMC and the Left are silent on this appeal of ‘vote jihad’ against me. This means that every single member of the opposition alliance agrees with it,” he said.

Hitting out at the coalition, the PM said the INDIA bloc of Congress, TMC and the Left parties “has only one policy – appeasement”. “First, they divided the country based on religion, and the brunt was borne by communities like the Sikhs, Christians and Parsis, who were left stranded on the other side. To take care of such communities, our government decided to bring the CAA, but these parties, including the TMC, are fighting tooth and nail against it to not upset their vote bank,” he said.

Reaching out to the Matua community of West Bengal, Modi said: “We had hoped that the TMC would support the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, as the Matuas would benefit from it. But, the state’s ruling party is opposing it for their vote bank politics.”

On Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s remarks over wealth redistribution, the PM said, the Congress and the INDIA bloc are planning to “take the wealth that you have accumulated by working hard and enduring hardships, and distribute it among their vote bank”.