As PM Modi charges ahead, opposition struggles to keep pace with ‘Vijay Rath’

New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) Propelling the BJP-NDA’s ‘Vijay Rath’ forward at an unprecedented pace in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with his unmatched oratory prowess and relentless energy, has reduced the opposition parties and their leaders to mere spectators.

As the office-goers were returning home on Wednesday evening, PM Modi was participating in a massive roadshow through the streets of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh with Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan.

The Prime Minister started the day in faraway Telangana by offering prayers at Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy temple in Karimnagar around 9.30 AM.

A little over half an hour later, he was addressing a public programme in the same constituency. Around noon, he was addressing another rally in Warangal.

Hot and humid Rajampet in Andhra Pradesh was the PM’s next stop as he addressed another gathering post 4 PM.

In between, PM Modi met not just many leaders and workers from his and coalition parties but also interacted with the locals, including stopping his cavalcade to meet a kid in Lakshmipuram village while on his way to Warangal.

Tuesday was no different. Immediately after casting his vote in Ahmedabad, PM Modi travelled to Madhya Pradesh to address poll rallies in Khargone and Dhar.

Later in the day, he was in Ahmednagar and Beed in Maharashtra spotlighting his government’s achievements over the last 10 years while tearing into the opposition INDIA bloc at the same time.

Analysts, who at the start of the election campaign believed that PM Modi has stolen a march over the opposition, are now of firm belief that he is miles ahead of opposition leaders – including ‘challenger’ Rahul Gandhi from Congress – when it comes to travelling the length and breadth of the country to ensure a third term for his government.

Calling him a ‘superhuman’, they reveal that PM Modi has already crossed the century mark when it comes to addressing rallies besides also giving more than two dozen interviews to regional, national and international news outlets since March.

And, after a long tiring day, the Prime Minister has still found time to connect with the masses through various road shows in different corners of the country.

On the other hand, keen observers have also taken note of the rather lackadaisical approach of the opposition parties, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, that has already pushed the alliance on the backfoot.

Insisting that the ‘challenger’ has largely been missing, they reveal that since the ‘Nyay Yatra’ ended on March 17, Rahul Gandhi has addressed only 39 public meetings till May 8 – many of them planned poorly and held in areas where the Congress may not have much chance of emerging victorious.

They also point out that, unlike PM Modi, the Congress MP has not given any interview to put across the viewpoint of the INDIA bloc.

As temperatures rise, it seems that it is only the BJP which is heating up the election campaign for the remaining phases.

With the launch of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ campaign, it is also quite clear that the party is already looking at 2047 and not just June 4, 2024, when the election results will be announced.

–IANS

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