Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday responded sharply to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s comments on the exit polls, which predict a significant victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha elections.
“Rahul Gandhi should start a gym. Shashi Tharoor should start an English training institute. The Congress party has many people who are very good with language and speak very eloquently, and I think these elections will point them towards a new occupation,” Chandrasekhar told ANI. Chandrasekhar, the BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram, is contesting against Tharoor in the Kerala capital.
Chandrasekhar emphasized that the people of India desire political leaders who can genuinely serve and improve their lives, suggesting that neither Rahul Gandhi nor other Congress leaders fit that description.
Tharoor had earlier dismissed the exit poll projections as “laughable,” expressing skepticism about their accuracy. “We are seeing it with skepticism and disbelief because we have also been campaigning throughout the country. We also have a sense of what the pulse of the people is and we don’t believe it is reflected accurately in these polls,” Tharoor said to ANI.
Tharoor maintained that the Congress and its allies in the INDIA bloc are confident of a strong performance. “Our Congress president, after meeting all the INDIA bloc members, has said that he is convinced that we are getting about 295 for the alliance. I stick to that number,” he added.
The Congress and several opposition parties have collectively dismissed the exit poll results, maintaining optimism about their prospects. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi urged patience, saying, “We have to wait, just wait and see. We are very hopeful that our results are completely opposite to what the exit polls are showing.”
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi also criticized the exit polls, calling them biased. “It is not exit poll, it is Modi media poll. It is Modi ji’s poll. It is his fantasy poll,” he remarked.