"It's a moral defeat of PM Modi," says Ajay Rai on Lok Sabha results of Varanasi

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 7 (ANI): Congress Uttar Pradesh President Ajay Rai stepped up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the PM faced a moral defeat in Varanasi, given his victory by a margin merely one-fourth of his previous Lok Sabha triumph.

After reaching the Uttar Pradesh office for the first time, all the workers and leaders welcomed the state president with great enthusiasm. Speaking with ANI, Ajay Rai said, "Every worker of the Congress party is happy that the party has emerged powerful. They are feeling proud that the Congress party with full vigour has again emerged powerful in Uttar Pradesh. I would like to thank each and every party worker and the INDIA alliance."

He added further, "I thank the people of Kashi Vishwanath for supporting me. The people of Kashi decided to support their son, their family member."

The Uttar Pradesh Congress President took a jibe at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the PM faced a moral defeat in Kashi. "PM Narendra Modi only spoke lies and misled people... He used to say '10 lakh paar,' Adityanath Yogi used to say '10 lakh paar...' It is the moral defeat of PM Modi as he won by just a margin of one-fourth of his previous Lok Sabha win."

Taking a jibe at PM Modi's guarantees, Raoi said, "The public has refused them and now, they will form the government by breaking parties... Modi's guarantee has failed."

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had contested against Congress' Ajay Rai. Mode defeated Rai with a margin of 1,52,513 votes. Modi garnered 6,12,970 votes while Rai secured 4,60,457 votes.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to take oath for third successive term in office on June 9, sources said.

BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a successive third term in office in the results of Lok Sabha elections declared on June 4.

Sources said PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony may take place at 6 pm on June 9.

Earlier there was speculation that the swearing-in ceremony of the new NDA government led by PM Modi would take place on Saturday.

There is no official confirmation yet of the date of the oath-taking ceremony. Leaders of parties in the National Democratic Alliance held a meeting on Wednesday and elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their leader.

PM Modi later said that NDA will work towards building a developed India."Met our valued NDA partners. Ours is an alliance that will further national progress and fulfil regional aspirations. We will serve the 140 crore people of India and work towards building a Viksit Bharat," PM Modi said in a tweet on Wednesday.

According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong improvement, winning 99 seats. While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 292 seats, the INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions. (ANI)