Lok Sabha polls 2024: Elections not beauty contests, says Congress on INDIA alliance's PM face

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday downplayed the importance of the Prime Ministerial face in Indian elections, emphasizing the importance of party ideology and campaigning. There have been questions around who will be the Prime Ministerial face from the Opposition INDIA alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. 

Answering a question on if there will be a PM face from the INDIA alliance, Ramesh told news agency ANI, "In our country, elections are not beauty contests. In our country, competition is held between the parties, its ideology, its symbol, its campaigning."

He dismissed the BJP's claim of winning more than 370 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as 'psychological warfare'. "PM Modi and Amit Shah are experts at psychological warfare. If they will cross 370 seats (in the Lok Sabha elections), why are they running after BJD, Pawan Kalyan, or TDP?" Ramesh asked. 

The Congress leader also pointed out that the BJP is trying to forge alliances with regional parties, despite PM Modi's previous dismissal of the INDIA bloc. “Earlier, PM Modi claimed he alone was sufficient for the nation. But now, they are pursuing alliances with BJD, Pawan Kalyan, and Chandrababu Naidu, attempting to revive the NDA.”

“There are two 'I' in INDIA. if we take out those two 'I'- 'Imandari' and 'Insaniyat', only NDA is left...These are our two issues for the 2024 elections- 'Imandari' and ‘Insaniyat’,” he added.

The opposition's attempt to form a strong front against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls was impacted when TMC announced candidates on all 42 seats in West Bengal. State Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is fearful of PM Modi. 

In the midst of uncertainty regarding the Prime Ministerial face of the INDIA bloc for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, NCP President Sharad Pawar in December last year stated that there are 'no consequences if a face is not projected'. 

He cited the 1977 elections, where no face was projected for PM, and Moraraji Desai was later elected. As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections approach, the INDIA alliance is preparing to challenge the NDA. In a recent meeting of the INDIA bloc, two leaders backed Congress party President Malliakrjun Kharge's name for PM's face, while others reportedly opposed. 

Kharge's son Priyank stated that the focus should be on winning seats first. Mallikarjun Kharge remained neutral in his response regarding his name as PM candidate. The INDIA parties aim to challenge the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and are addressing issues such as seat-sharing and a joint campaign blueprint.