BJP candidate Navneet Rana during an election rally in Amravati, on Thursday, April 4, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Amravati: Hours after a video of Navneet Rana claiming there was "no Modi wave" went viral, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi said that she was speaking the truth even as the Independent MP, who is now contesting the Amravati seat on BJP's ticket, said that her comments were doctored and misconstrued.
Navneet Rana won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an Independent backed by Sharad Pawar-led NCP, however, days before filing nominations for the 2024 polls, she joined the BJP.
Navneet Rana’s comments have come as an embarrassment to the BJP’s state and central leadership.
In the video, Navneet Rana, while addressing an election meeting, was heard saying: “We will have to fight this Lok Sabha election as if it were a gram panchayat election. We will have to bring all the voters to the polling booth by noon and tell them to vote. Don’t remain under the illusion that there is a Modi-wave.”
However, later, she issued a clarification, in which she said: “…some things are appearing in the media after editing…I want to tell opposition that we are going to the people with the name of Modi ji…we are extending salutations of Modi ji…there is no opposition against him in the entire country…its abki baar, 400 paar”.
Senior politician and six-time MP Subramanian Swamy posted on X: “Not surprising to those who have followed my earlier tweets: 'BJP minus Modi can get majority'."
Maharashtra Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Atul Londhe said she was speaking the truth, and it reflected the mood of the voters on the ground.
“The BJP's slogan of 'abki baar 400 par' is just a gimmick and there is no doubt that the BJP will face massive defeat. The BJP candidates are also aware of it. The BJP's candidate for Amravati Lok Sabha Constituency Navneet Rana said in the public meeting that there is no Modi wave. By saying this she has validated the situation on the ground which has taken the air out of the BJP's balloon,” Londhe said.
She added that Navneet Rana, who is the incumbent MP and also the BJP's candidate from Amravati, has clearly indicated in her campaign meetings that the so-called 'Modi wave' has subsided.
“Despite the Modi wave in 2019, she was elected as the independent candidate from Amravati. Navneet Rana has understood the reality that the Modi wave has waned, but Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and State President Chandrashekhar Banwankule are yet to realise it; they are still living in the illusion. These two still feel that Modi continues to be a vote-puller. Even in 2004, the BJP did not realise how Sonia Gandhi undermined the power of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani's regime with 'India Shining' and 'Feel Good', throwing them out of power,” said Londhe.