Rahul’s ‘dance’ taunt not the first: How personal attacks on Modi have backfired for Congress before

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked PM Modi during a rally in Bihar

Returning from a 58-day hiatus from the Bihar poll hustings, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stoked a controversy after he alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would “happily dance” for votes.

The Congress leader was addressing a Mahagathbandhan rally in Muzaffarpur. "If you tell Narendra Modi to dance in exchange for your votes, he will dance on stage," he said.

He also latched on to the recently concluded Chhath Puja, the biggest festival for the residents of Bihar. According to Gandhi, while devotees prayed in a polluted Yamuna in Delhi, PM Modi took a dip in a "specially made" pond.

“PM Modi said that he will bathe in the Yamuna for Chhath,” Gandhi claimed. “The Yamuna has dirty water. If someone drank it, they would either get sick or die. But Modi staged a drama. He built a small pond there. They will show you anything for elections. A pipe is installed from behind. Clean water is poured into it. The problem arose that someone took a photo of the pipe,” he said.

However, this is not the first time Gandhi attacked PM Modi. In September, the BJP tore into the Congress over its attempt to "insult" PM Modi and his mother.

This came after Bihar Congress posted an AI generated video of PM Modi and his mother on X. The clip showed the Prime Minister dreaming his mother was rebuking him over his politics. Bihar Congress shared the video with a caption in Hindi, which roughly translated to: “Ma Appears in Saheb’s Dreams. Watch the Interesting Dialogue."

The BJP said the Congress has “crossed all limits" and called it a “disgusting" attempt to target someone (PM Modi’s mother) who is no longer alive. The incident came soon after expletives were allegedly hurled at the Prime Minister and his mother from stage at a Mahagathbandhan event in Darbhanga.

During a rally in poll-bound Bihar, the PM said, “My mother was abused from the stage of RJD-Congress in Bihar... These abuses are not just an insult to my mother. These are insults to the mothers, sisters and daughters of the country.”

Personal jibes at PM Modi by the Congress ahead of key elections is not a new trend.  However, every such attack has been weaponised by the BJP and used for electoral gains.

‘Maut ka Saudagar’

In 2007, during the Gujarat Assembly elections, then Congress president Sonia Gandhi had called Modi ‘Maut ka Saudagar’. After this, the BJP, which was struggling to retain its government in the state, managed to retain the seat by winning 117 seats.

‘Chai-wala’

Ater the declaration of Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate by the BJP in 2014, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer said a “chai-wala” can never become the prime minister.

Aiyer had reportedly referred to the early life of PM Modi when he reportedly used to sell tea at a railway station in Gujarat. In 2014, BJP, under the leadership of Modi, secured a majority on its own by winning 282 seats.

‘Neech aadmi'

Ahead of the 2017 Gujarat polls, Aiyar once again targeted PM Modi, calling him a “neech aadmi.” Modi turned the remark into a casteist slur aimed at him by the Congress. The BJP used the remark to paint the Congress as anti-Dalit and anti-OBC. The BJP eventually managed to gain a majority comfortably, winning 99 seats, seven more than the majority mark.

 ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’

During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi had led a campaign against PM Modi on the backdrop of his accusations regarding the Rafale deals. PM Modi had called himself  “Main Chowkidar hu”, for guarding the country’s interest.  Gandhi accused the PM  of facilitating massive kickbacks in exchange for a costlier deal and the slogan of 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' became his weapon of choice to target the PM.  The BJP, in turn, launched a massive "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign to counter the Congress leader's allegations. The counter-offensive saw several BJP leaders add a "Main bhi chowkidar" suffix to their social media handles

However, the personal attack hit the Congress during the polls. The BJP won the polls with an even bigger margin. It managed to win 303 seats in the elections, which was 21 more as compared to 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

‘Ravan’

Ahead of the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge referred to PM Modi as ‘Ravan’ during a campaign rally. In Ahmedabad’s Behrampura, Kharge said, "We see your (Modi’s) face in corporation elections, MLA elections or MP elections, everywhere… Do you have 100 heads like Raavan?"

Following the statement, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel claimed that the remark reflected the Congress' hatred for Gujaratis.

The narrative worked and the BJP won 152 of the 182 seats and formed its government for a record seventh term.