Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday downplayed the importance of the prime ministerial face, emphasising the essence of Indian elections beyond mere personality contests.

When asked if there will be a PM face from the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), Jairam Ramesh asserted, “In our country, elections are not beauty contests. In our country, competition is held between the parties, its ideology, its symbol, its campaigning.”

On the opposition’s manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress general secretary in charge of communications clarified, “We never had a common manifesto. We have the ‘Panch Nyay’ agenda, which is not only Congress’ agenda but the agenda of the entire INDIA alliance.”

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Ramesh also dismissed the BJP’s claim of winning more than 370 seats in the Lok Sabha elections as “psychological warfare”.

“PM Modi and Amit Shah are experts at Psychological warfare. If they will cross 370 seats (in the Lok Sabha elections), why are they running after BJD, Pawan Kalyan, or TDP?” he questioned.

Noting Modi’s previous dismissal of the INDIA bloc and subsequent attempts to court regional parties, Ramesh said, “Earlier, PM Modi claimed he alone was sufficient for the nation. But now, they are pursuing alliances with BJD, Pawan Kalyan, and Chandrababu Naidu, attempting to revive the NDA.”

“There are two ‘I’ in INDIA. if we take out those two ‘I’- ‘Imandari’ and ‘Insaniyat’, only NDA is left…These are our two issues for the 2024 elections- ‘Imandari’ and ‘Insaniyat’,” he added.

The opposition’s attempt to forge a formidable front to stop the Narendra Modi-led BJP juggernaut in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls was dealt a major blow on Sunday when Trinamool Congress unilaterally announced candidates on all 42 seats in West Bengal. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee sprung the biggest surprise of the day by nominating former cricketer Yusuf Pathan from Baharampur seat, a stronghold of state Congress chief and five-term MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Chowdhury on Sunday claimed that Banerjee is fearful of PM Modi and her main aim is to defeat him at any cost, even if it means BJP winning.

“Mamata Banerjee is worried that if she joins the INDIA Alliance, she will have to face Modi. She is worried that if the ED and CBI start visiting TMC on Modi’s orders, it could pose a risk to the TMC party. So, by distancing herself from the alliance, Mamata Banerjee is sending a message to Modi’s office: Don’t be upset with me; I’m not part of the alliance and I won’t compete with the BJP,” he said.