"We are telling PM Modi not to be afraid, contest from South like Rahul Gandhi": Pawan Khera after PM mocks Cong leader's Raebareli candidature

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], May 4 : All India Congress Committee media department chairman Pawan Khera on Saturday retaliated against Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over Raebareli candidature asking that just like Rahul has the courage to fight from South and the North, why doesn't PM Modi go and contest from the South?
Khera further said that as he (PM Modi) is the Prime Minister of the country, why doesn't he show courage to contest from the south.
"We are saying to PM Modi that don't be afraid, fight from the South. Just like Rahul Gandhi has the courage to fight the South and the North. Why doesn't Modi ji go and fight from the South? He is the Prime Minister of the country, why doesn't he show courage, why is he so afraid of the South." the Congress leader told ANI.
While addressing a mega rally in the Purba Bardhaman district in West Bengal on Friday, PM Modi jibed at Rahul Gandhi on his candidature from the legacy seat of Gandhi family, Raebareli.
"I told you earlier that Shehzaada would start looking for another safe seat for himself, fearing defeat in Wayanad. He was so afraid after losing Amethi in 2019 that he bolted all the way down South, to Wayanad. Now, he has escaped to Raebareli. These people often go around telling people, 'Daro maat' (don't be afraid). It's now my turn to say the same to them--'Arey daro maat, bhaago maat' (don't be afraid! don't flee!)," PM Modi said.
Meanwhile, speaking about the Congress' position in the state, Khera said that they were leading on various seats in the state and also there were close contest on a few seats in the state.
"We are working on the booth management here and we believe that we will perform good in the lok sabha elections in the state," the congress leader said.
Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh are being conducted in four phases. The first phase of polling was held on April 19 and the second phase was concluded on April 26.
The next two phases will be conducted on May 7 and May 13. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.
A total of nine parliamentary constituencies- Morena, Bhind, Gwalior, Guna, Sagar, Vidisha, Bhopal, Rajgarh and Betul- will go to the polls in the third phase on May 7.
On the other hand, eight constituencies - Dewas, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dhar, Indore, Khargone and Khandwa- will go to the polls in the fourth and the last phase in the state on May 13.
With 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, Madhya Pradesh ranks sixth among all states in terms of its representation in the Lower House. Of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved.