Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked people whether they wanted the country to be run like a ‘Ram Rajya’ or through ‘vote jihad’. He said their votes ensured that the corrupt landed up in jail and the Ram Temple was constructed amid fanfare.

Addressing poll rallies at tribal dominated Khargone and Dhar Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, he said the Congress has nefarious designs against him and the opposition is prompting its favourite vote bank to carry out ‘vote jihad’ against Modi.

“The country is at a crucial crossroads in history today. You (the people) have to decide whether India is ruled like a ‘Ram Rajya’ or through a ‘vote jihad’?” the PM told the crowds at the public meetings.

He told the crowd at Khargone that their one vote led to the abrogation of Article 370 from Kashmir, made a tribal woman the President of the country and led India to become a world power amongst other achievements.

The PM slammed the Congress and the INDI Alliance, saying they disrespect our armed forces but praise Pakistan. He cautioned people that the Congress wants to snatch away their ancestral property and also give their part of reservation to the Muslims.

At Dhar, the PM accused the Congress of disrespecting Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar by spreading lies about the Constitution. Modi said the Congress continuously abuses him and is leveling false allegations against him regarding the Constitution. Ambedkar’s birthplace, Mhow, comes under the Dhar Lok Sabha seat.

This was the second time that the PM addressed election rallies in some parts of Madhya Pradesh, even as voting was going on in some other closely located areas.

On 19 April, during the first phase, the PM addressed a poll rally at Damoh amidst ongoing voting in six other Lok Sabha seats of MP. Damoh went to polls in the second phase on 26 April.

Today, the PM held poll rallies at Khargone and Dhar, which go to polls in the fourth phase on 13 May. However, while the PM was addressing the poll rallies there, voting was ongoing in nine seats of the state, including the high-profile seats of Rajgarh, Guna and Vidisha, from where Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and BJP leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Shivraj Singh Chouhan are contesting, respectively.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also addressed a poll rally at Ashok Nagar under Guna Lok Sabha seat on 26 April, while voting was on for six other Lok Sabha seats of MP during the second phase on the same day. The Guna seat went to polls on 7 May in the third phase.