Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the relatively low margin of his victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, saying the prime minister ‘barely escaped’ in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency he contested.
Addressing a public meeting in Kerala’s Malappuram, the Congress leader said, “The truth is the Prime Minister barely escaped (from losing) in Varanasi, and he would have been defeated in Varanasi….”
Gandhi further termed the BJP’s unexpected defeat in Faizabad (Ayodhya), ”a message against hatred and violence”.
“The BJP was defeated in Ayodhya. The people of Ayodhya have given a message that we do not appreciate hatred and violence…,” he added.
Modi faced a stiff challenge in Varanasi from Congress candidate Ajay Rai. At one stage, Modi was even trailing behind his Congress rival.
While Modi managed to win the seat for the third consecutive time, his victory margin reduced to just over 1.5 lakh votes as compared to 4.79 lakh in 2019 and 3.71 lakh in 2014.
Moreover, the BJP suffered significant losses in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, a state that has voted overwhelmingly for the saffron party in the last two elections.
The BJP won just 33 of the 80 seats as its tally came down from 62 in 2019. The Samajwadi Party and the Congress bagged 39 seats together.
On Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi had also claimed that Modi would have been defeated from Varanasi had Priyanka Gandhi contested against him.
Addressing the “Aabhaar Sabha” (thanksgiving meeting) of party workers in Rae Bareli, the Gandhi scion had said, “Varansi me jaan bacha ke bhage hai pradhan mantri ji….Had my sister contested the Varanasi seat, the prime minister would have been defeated by 2 to 3 lakh votes.”