"Why is PM so nervous and afraid...": Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

All 26 parliamentary seats in Gujarat will go to the polls in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 7.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday questioned why PM Modi was nervous in Surat and Indore Lok Sabha seats, resorting to threatening and coercing Congress candidates to withdraw their nominations, although Congress hasn't won these seats since 1984. "Since 1984, the Congress has not won Surat and Indore Lok Sabha seats. Yet in 2024, candidates in both seats were threatened, intimidated and bulldozed into withdrawing their nominations. Why is the PM so nervous and afraid even in traditional BJP bastions?" he said in a post on X.

Earlier, Gujarat Congress President Shaktisinh Gohil had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of seeking votes in the name of Lord Ram, claiming that they won't benefit from this as they are exposed before the public. "In a democracy, votes are given on work, but in the name of work, BJP has done mischiefs. So they are seeking votes on the name of Lord Ram. But they are exposed to people, and they are not going to benefit from this," Gohil said while speaking to the media in Valsad.

BJP has won four Lok Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh's Indore and Gujarat's Surat seats. BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed in Surat after the nomination papers of the Congress party's candidate Nilesh Kumbhani were rejected, as his three proposers claimed in an affidavit to the district election officer that they had not signed his nomination form.

Meanwhile, Congress nominee from Indore parliamentary seat, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination papers and joined the BJP. (ANI)

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