INDIA Bloc Leaders Target BJP Collectively

On Sunday, March 17, several opposition leaders targeted the ruling BJP from one platform, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stressing that he was compelled to launch his Bharat Jodo Yatras to highlight rising inflation, unemployment and hatred in society.

Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) grouping, in a show of strength, assembled for a mega rally ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which will be held from April 19 onwards, in seven phases.

Gandhi, while addressing the rally at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park after the conclusion of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi won’t be able to win the Lok Sabha elections without “EVMs, ED, CBI and Income Tax”.

Gandhi said, “Our fight against Modi is not on a personal level. Modi is a ‘mask’ who works for a ‘shakti’ (power). He is a shallow man who doesn’t have a 56-inch chest.” He alleged that PM Modi had a “monopoly over corruption”.

He asked, “Do you think the Shiv Sena and NCP people split and joined the ruling alliance just like that?”

Eknath Shinde led a split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 and aligned with the BJP to become the Maharashtra chief minister. Ajit Pawar triggered a similar upheaval in the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) last year.

Rahul Gandhi also claimed that a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not “fight this power any more and didn’t want to go to jail”.

Gandhi claimed Modi can’t win elections “without electronic voting machines (EVMs)”.

He said, “We asked the Election Commission of India to count the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) also. But our demand hasn’t been accepted.”

The Wayanad MP said that Mumbai’s Dharavi could compete with the Chinese city of Shenzhen and become a manufacturing hub, but the government was not letting it happen, referring to the plan to redevelop the slum sprawl.

The leaders of the INDIA bloc appealed to people to exercise their franchise with caution, saying a third term for PM Modi will ensure that the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be the last elections in the country. They said the BJP wants over 400 seats to change the Constitution.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Modi’s guarantee is for the rich, while the opposition grouping’s guarantee is for the common man.

“I must tell Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray that those who left them shouldn’t be taken back,” Kharge said. He added that such people will want to return to the INDIA fold when it comes to power.

Kharge claimed that “another term for Modi will mean the upcoming polls will be the last elections in the country” and asked people to vote in large numbers and cast their ballot cautiously.

As the Lok Sabha polls approach, the BJP has been using ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ as a key campaign slogan to stress the party’s commitment to the development of all sections of society.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said BJP is afraid of the “Gandhi” in Rahul Gandhi’s name. She said, “BJP speaks of winning more than 400 Lok Sabha seats to change the Constitution.”

Kalpana Sorem wife of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren also spoke at the event. She alleged her husband was jailed as part of a conspiracy. The ED has arrested Hemant Soren in a money laundering case.

Describing electoral bonds as “white collar corruption” of the ruling BJP, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said their alliance would form a secular, federal and inclusive government at the Centre.

Prakash Ambedkar, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief and grandson of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, attended the rally but did not categorically spell out if he was a part of the opposition alliance. Referring to TMC head Mamata Banerjee’s plan to go solo in West Bengal in the general elections, he said, “Whether together or alone, you need to fight. Bengal has gone separate ways. Here there are attempts to come together.”