Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hit out at the Congress for calling him "Shauchalaya ka Chowkidar", saying "I wear their abuse as a badge of honour". Addressing a public meeting in Maharashtra's Wardha, PM Modi said that the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance in the state was like "Kumbhakarna"; they took turns to sleep for six months. Wardha is among the eight districts that have been selected for PM Modi's election rallies in Maharashtra where voting in total 48 Lok Sabha seats will be held in four phases starting April 11, news agency PTI said. From Maharashtra, the prime minister will travel south to the two Telugu states - Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
PM Modi's political opponent Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, addressed three election rallies at Zaheerabad, Wanaparthi and Huzurnagar. On Sunday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi promised special status to Andhra Pradesh if the party came to power. "Special status to Andhra Pradesh was a commitment from the Prime Minister of India and not Manmohan Singh of the Congress," Rahul Gandhi in his first rally in the state at Vijaywada.
With just ten days left for polling, BJP president Amit Shah and party's other top leaders, including Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari, are also expected to campaign for the party nominees in coming days.
