Jairam Ramesh, a senior Congress leader, fired back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, calling his comments on the party’s performance in the recent MLC poll results "trolling" and demanding the leader reflect on the BJP’s losses in Varanasi and Nagpur.
In the 28‑seat contest across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka, the BJP secured 13 seats while the Congress managed only one. The party’s defeat in Varanasi and Nagpur—a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh—has become a flashpoint for opposition criticism.
Ramesh went beyond electoral numbers, accusing the Centre of ignoring inflation, unemployment and the grinding halt in private investment. He warned that crores of families are already reeling from rising prices and that the youth are left jobless, framing these issues as a de facto no‑confidence motion against Modi’s policies.
The exchange follows a recent dig by Modi on the same day, where he mocked Congress’s performance in Karnataka’s Legislative Council elections. The BJP’s upcoming strategy meeting on Friday will see Modi defend his party’s electoral performance and outline measures to counter the growing discontent highlighted by Ramesh.