Narendra Modi repeatedly targeted the Rahul Gandhi family when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Later, he was targeted by Sharad, Mulayam, Laluprasad, Karunanidhi, Shibu Soren’s ‘familyism’.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the ‘nepotism of the opposition camp’ during the campaign for the last round of polls. He claimed at BJP’s public meetings in Bihar’s Patliputra and Buxar on Saturday that a few family alliances are fighting against the BJP in this Lok Sabha election. Significantly, he also mentioned the name of Trinamool in that ‘family list’.

At the Patliputra meeting, Narendra Modi said, “Do you know who our rivals are? A row of family members. Sons and daughters of Gandhi, Samajwadi Party National Conference, NCP, Trinamool, AAP, fake Shiv Sena and RJD families. Their aim is to play musical chairs with the post of Prime Minister. Their priority is family politics rather than national interest.

Modi has repeatedly targeted the Gandhi family while he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Later, he was targeted by Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad, Karunanidhi, Shibu Soren’s ‘Parababad’. During the Nilbari fight in 2021, he targeted Trinamool All India General Secretary Abhishek Bandyopadhyay by using the word ‘nephew’ several times during the campaign in Bengal. This time it was no different. “The lantern (election symbol) of RJD burns only in Lalu’s house,” he said while visiting Bihar on Saturday, taking a jab at the entry into politics of Lalu’s sons Tejaswi and Tejpratap and daughters Misa and Rohini.

The opposition had alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was violating the electoral code of conduct by invoking religion in the election campaign. The Election Commission sent a notice to BJP president JP Nadda due to that complaint. In the last round of election campaigning, Modi went to Bihar’s Pataliputra on Saturday and accused the opposition alliance of ‘India’ of communalism. He said, “Indi (Opposition Alliance ‘India’) leaders are communal. So they want to introduce reservation on the basis of religion. He started ‘mujra’ while enslaving the vote bank.

Modi alleged that the opposition alliance’s intention was to disenfranchise Scheduled Castes (SC-ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) and give it to Muslims for the sake of their vote bank. He has been heard making this complaint in several meetings before. Significantly, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, the BJP’s ally in Andhra Pradesh, has announced that he will reserve four per cent for Muslims if he comes to power in the state (the Lok Sabha polls are also held in Andhra Pradesh). But neither Modi nor any other BJP leader commented on the promise of the associate party leader.

The Congress released its election manifesto in early April. After that, Modi went to the poll campaign in Rajasthan and said, “Looking at the Congress manifesto reminds me of the pre-independence Muslim League.” After that, in meetings in Morena in Madhya Pradesh and Agra in Uttar Pradesh, he said, “Congress has noticed the savings of mothers and sisters.” He also alleged that the Congress was trying to siphon off that money from Muslims by imposing property tax on everything from gold jewelery stored at home to mangalsutras of Hindu married women.

The opposition alleges that after the first phase of the polls on April 19, the BJP leaders, including Modi, gradually increased the tone of polarization after understanding the situation as unfavorable. On April 21, Modi said at a BJP meeting in Rajasthan’s Banswara, “Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said in the past that Muslims have the foremost right to the wealth of the country. That is why the Congress has planned to conduct a survey. So that the hard-earned money of the countrymen can be distributed among Muslims and intruders.”

After this on April 22 in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, he said, “Congress has its eye on your property. When they come to power, they will take away the mangalsutra of mothers and sisters. You know who you will give it to.” On April 30, Modi complained in Telangana and Maharashtra campaigns that if the Congress seizes power at the Centre, it will take away the reservations of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Castes and OBCs and give them to Muslims. In Zahirabad, Telangana, he said, “As long as I am alive, I will not, will not, will not hand over the reservation of Dalits to Muslims on the basis of religion!” Congress and all its allies, open their ears and listen to this.”