NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s whirlwind Lok Sabha election campaign, which included a total of 206 public outreach programmes – some laced with a lot of acrimony and aggression, ended on Thursday with a rally in Punjab’s Hoshiyarpur. The Prime Minister also gave a total of 80 media interviews, averaging more than one daily since the polls began.
The 76-day campaign period saw a rare censure for the BJP by the Election Commission over opposition allegations of divisive speech against the Prime Minister.In fact, both BJP chief JP Nadda and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge were warned and told by the poll body to rein in their star campaigners which included PM Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi among others.
The EC had then said in a statement: “The Commission expects top leaders of political parties, especially of the major national parties, most of whom are star campaigners, to set good examples of campaign discourse expected of them in the current elections.”
“It is primarily the leaders’ responsibility to correct the course of their statements “to avoid any permanent dent on the delicately balanced social fabric of the country,” the poll body had told the party chiefs of BJP and Congress.
As the campaign ended for the final phase of polls which is to be held on June 1, Kharge attacked Prime Minister Modi and claimed that he spoke about ‘mandir-masjid’ and divisive issues 421 times during poll campaigning despite the Election Commission’s direction of no appeal for votes on caste and religion.
Kharge also claimed that PM Modi in his speeches of the last 15 days took the Congress’s name 232 times, his own name 758 times, but didn’t talk about unemployment even once.
PM Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh on Thursday accused him of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the prime minister by giving “hateful speeches” during the poll campaign.
PM Modi ends campaign with yet another sharp attack on opposition
However, undeterred by these attacks, the Prime Minister in his last rally for these elections asked the opposition to make no mistake in understanding him as he can disclose “sins of their seven generations.”
“I want to tell INDI Alliance leaders. I am silent but you should not make a mistake in understanding Modi… ‘Modi jis din muh kholega to tumhari saat pidhi ke paap nikaal ke rakh dunga’ (The day Modi opens his mouth, he will bring out the sins of your seven generations),” he said.
From ‘Mangalsutra’ to ‘Mujra’ attack
Prime Minister election speeches saw fierce attacks on the opposition, especially the Congress. From accusing the grand old party of planning to steal the Mangalsutras of women to charging the opposition of doing Mujra, one of the key themes of PM’s attack was the policy of alleged appeasement by opposition parties.
In his speeches, PM Modi also raised pitch against opposition’s alleged plans to end reservations for OBCs and give those benefits to minorities (read Muslims).
PM Modi started his Lok Sabha campaign with a strong pitch of Abki Baar 400 paar asserting that the NDA would win 400 seats and the BJP will cross the 370 mark. However, as the campaign progressed the discourse and narrative changed.
PM Modi surpasses his 2019 record
Prime Minister Modi’s 2024 election campaign of over 200 rallies and roadshows surpassed his nearly-145 public engagements during the 2019 polls during which the campaign period was 68 days. When the Election Commission announced the polls on March 16, PM Modi was already on a political tour of southern India – covering all five states in the three days between March 15 and March 17. We will have to wait till June 4, when the poll results will be out, to know how effective was PM Modi’s high-pitched record campaign.
(With inputs from agencies)
The 76-day campaign period saw a rare censure for the BJP by the Election Commission over opposition allegations of divisive speech against the Prime Minister.In fact, both BJP chief JP Nadda and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge were warned and told by the poll body to rein in their star campaigners which included PM Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi among others.
The EC had then said in a statement: “The Commission expects top leaders of political parties, especially of the major national parties, most of whom are star campaigners, to set good examples of campaign discourse expected of them in the current elections.”
“It is primarily the leaders’ responsibility to correct the course of their statements “to avoid any permanent dent on the delicately balanced social fabric of the country,” the poll body had told the party chiefs of BJP and Congress.
As the campaign ended for the final phase of polls which is to be held on June 1, Kharge attacked Prime Minister Modi and claimed that he spoke about ‘mandir-masjid’ and divisive issues 421 times during poll campaigning despite the Election Commission’s direction of no appeal for votes on caste and religion.
Kharge also claimed that PM Modi in his speeches of the last 15 days took the Congress’s name 232 times, his own name 758 times, but didn’t talk about unemployment even once.
PM Modi’s predecessor Manmohan Singh on Thursday accused him of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the prime minister by giving “hateful speeches” during the poll campaign.
PM Modi ends campaign with yet another sharp attack on opposition
However, undeterred by these attacks, the Prime Minister in his last rally for these elections asked the opposition to make no mistake in understanding him as he can disclose “sins of their seven generations.”
“I want to tell INDI Alliance leaders. I am silent but you should not make a mistake in understanding Modi… ‘Modi jis din muh kholega to tumhari saat pidhi ke paap nikaal ke rakh dunga’ (The day Modi opens his mouth, he will bring out the sins of your seven generations),” he said.
From ‘Mangalsutra’ to ‘Mujra’ attack
Prime Minister election speeches saw fierce attacks on the opposition, especially the Congress. From accusing the grand old party of planning to steal the Mangalsutras of women to charging the opposition of doing Mujra, one of the key themes of PM’s attack was the policy of alleged appeasement by opposition parties.
In his speeches, PM Modi also raised pitch against opposition’s alleged plans to end reservations for OBCs and give those benefits to minorities (read Muslims).
PM Modi started his Lok Sabha campaign with a strong pitch of Abki Baar 400 paar asserting that the NDA would win 400 seats and the BJP will cross the 370 mark. However, as the campaign progressed the discourse and narrative changed.
PM Modi surpasses his 2019 record
Prime Minister Modi’s 2024 election campaign of over 200 rallies and roadshows surpassed his nearly-145 public engagements during the 2019 polls during which the campaign period was 68 days. When the Election Commission announced the polls on March 16, PM Modi was already on a political tour of southern India – covering all five states in the three days between March 15 and March 17. We will have to wait till June 4, when the poll results will be out, to know how effective was PM Modi’s high-pitched record campaign.
(With inputs from agencies)