Mallikarjun Kharge warns of ‘last election’ if Narendra Modi becomes PM again

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday predicted that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will turn out to be the last election ever in India if Narendra Modi retains power. Addressing a gathering of Congress workers in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar, Kharge claimed PM Modi will declare a dictatorship after this year’s general elections.

“If Modi comes to power after the Lok Sabha polls, there will be dictatorship; no democracy and no elections,” Kharge was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Kharge claimed the 2024 general elections will be the last chance for the people of the country to vote.

“They are giving (ED) notices to each and every one. They are intimidating people… Because of fear, some are leaving friendships, some are leaving the party, and some are leaving the alliance… This is your last chance to vote. After this, there will be no voting,” he said, per ANI.

Kharge warned the party workers against the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS, calling them “poison”.

“Rahul Gandhi wants to unite the country, he said he has opened ‘mohabbat ki dukaan’. But the BJP and RSS have opened ‘nafrat ki dukaan’. It is because of this that you need to remain alert. BJP and RSS are poison, they are depriving us of our rights,” Kharge said.

He also took potshots at BJD chief and Odisha chief minister Navin Patnaik over his “friendship” with PM Modi.

“What did Navin Patnaik gain from his friendship with Narendra Modi? The double engine fails at times. And when the double engine doesn’t work properly, the first engine also fails,” he said.

BJD often sides with the BJP in the parliament.

Talking about Nitish Kumar’s exit from the INDIA bloc, he said one person quitting the alliance won’t impact electoral outcomes.

“One person quitting Mahagathbandhan will not weaken us; we will defeat BJP,” he said.

Nitish Kumar on Sunday exited the INDIA bloc and formed a government in Bihar in alliance with the BJP.

The Janata Dal (United) blamed the Congress for the fiasco, saying the party tried to steal the INDIA bloc’s leadership. It also accused the Congress of making Mamata Banerjee propose Kharge’s name as the prime ministerial face of the alliance.