New Delhi:
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the latter used hatred in his campaign while he used love and added that he was confident that love will win.
"I thank the media for working will full force. This election has been fought on the issues of unemployment, farmers' plight, demonetisation, GST and Rafale deal. Narendra Modi used hatred in the campaign and we used love and I am confident love will win. We will accept what the people decide," Gandhi said after casting his vote in Delhi's Aurangzeb Lane.
The campaigning for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections has witnessed a series of attacks and counter-attacks from both sides. While Rahul has been trying to corner the Modi government over over issues like alleged irregularities in Rafale fighter jet deal, unemployment, demonetisation and GST, the prime minister has cornered the Congress chief over the alleged corruption in defence deals during the UPA regime.
Last week, Rahul had tendered an unconditional apology in the Supreme Court for wrongfully attributing to the apex court the 'chowkidar chor hai' remark in the Rafale verdict. He also sought closure of the criminal contempt proceedings against him on a petition filed by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi.
On the other hand, PM Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress by terming former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as "Bhrashtachari No. 1".
Besides, PM Modi accused the Gandhi family of using warship INS Viraat as its "personal taxi" when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister.
The BJP had swept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, winning a clear majority by bagging 282 seats. The NDA had won 336 seats, while the Congress was restricted to 44 seats.
This time, the BJP is facing the challenge of a virtually united opposition in several states. While the saffron party claims it will win a bigger mandate than 2014, several pre-poll surveys have predicted a dip in BJP's vote share.
