While addressing a public meeting in Rajasthan's Jalore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for choosing the Rajya Sabha route to reach Parliament.
Those who cannot win elections have deserted the field and become Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan, said Modi.
Hitting out at Congress, Modi said the party first sent a leader from South (K.C. Venugopal) to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan; then Rajasthan helped former prime minister Manmohan Singh.
"Manmohan Singh was ill for a long time. But was he ever seen here in Rajasthan? Now Rajasthan has again come to Congress's help. Another Congress leader (Sonia Gandhi) has been elected from Rajasthan to the Rajya Sabha," said Modi.
Sonia Gandhi was elected a member of the Rajya Sabha unopposed in February from Rajasthan. Before that, she represented Congress stronghold Raebareli in Lok Sabha for two decades and has also represented Amethi for five years.
"Congress was in power for 60 years; once they used to win 400 seats, but today they can't even find candidates for 300 seats. They are paying the price of their wrongdoing," Modi was quoted by Hindustan Times.
"Now they have made an opportunistic alliance in the name of the INDIA bloc which got its wings clipped before it could take flight. The so-called allies are contesting against each other in the states and at least in 25% of seats," he added.
Jalore is set to go to polls in the phase 2 polling, which will be held on April 26.
While taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi on Saturday said that he will have to flee Wayanad too this time as he escaped Amethi after losing the seat in the 2019 election.
Citing health reasons, Sonia Gandhi had vacated the party’s stronghold Raebareli seat. Congress is yet to field a candidate for the seat that will go to polls on May 20.
"I am proud to say that whatever I am today, I am because of you and I have always done my best to honour your trust. Now on account of health and age issues, I will not contest the next Lok Sabha election," Sonia Gandhi sent a message to the people of Raebareli after announcing her decision to leave electoral politics.
While speaking at the rally in Jalore, Haryana BJP election in-charge Satish Poonia said that Congress has already lost morally because their senior party leaders are not contesting elections.
“They are forming an alliance with smaller parties and they are not contesting on all 543 seats but on 230 seats... Whatever has been done since independence, has been done in these 10 years by PM Narendra Modi. Congress had not done anything during its 6-decade-long rule... BJP will win all 10 seats in Haryana,” Poonia told ANI.