Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of raking up “divisive issues more than 400 times" during campaigning for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

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“PM Modi spoke about ‘mandir-masjid’ (temple-mosque) and other divisive issues, more than 421 times during poll campaigning. He did this despite the Election Commission's direction of not appealing for votes on caste and religion,” Kharge said at a press conference in Delhi.

The Congress chief was speaking on the last day of campaigning for the seventh and final phase of the national polls. In the seventh phase, voting will be held on Saturday for 57 parliamentary constituencies across various states and Union territories.

The counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled for June 4.

Kharge, meanwhile, also claimed that in the last 15 days of the campaign, PM Modi took his own name “758 times” and mentioned the grand old party “232 times.”

“He did not talk about unemployment even once,” the senior politician stated.

Kharge also exuded confidence that the Congress-led opposition INDIA bloc will get a clear majority and give the country an “inclusive and nationalistic government.”

Also Read | BJP’s ‘400 par’ claim bogus, not even winning 200: Kharge

“We are confident that people will give a mandate for an alternative government on June 4,” he said, adding that voters have “endorsed” the INDIA bloc's view that if the incumbent government is re-elected, “it will be the end of democracy.”

The veteran leader also took swipe at the Prime Minister over the latter's statement in a media interview that the world came to know about Mahatma Gandhi only after the release of the Richard Attenborough-directed biopic in 1982.

“The PM may not have studied about Gandhi but Mahatma is known all over the world,” Kharge remarked.

(With PTI inputs)

Parts of Kerala witnessed rainfall on Thursday as the monsoon arrived earlier than usual, prompting the regional meteorological centre in Thiruvananthapuram to issue an ‘orange rain alert’. Accoriding to the weather office data, Kerala witnessed substantial rainfall in May, leading to a surplus.

IMD's forecast said isolated heavy rainfall is expected in Kerala and Mahe over the next five days. An orange alert has been issued in seven districts: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Idukki. Additionally, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode districts are under a yellow alert, as per the latest update from IMD.

An orange alert indicates the expectation of heavy rainfall ranging from 11 cm to 20 cm, while a yellow alert indicates heavy rainfall ranging between 6 cm and 11 cm.

On Thursday, rainfall hit the Kottayam district, and news agency ANI shared visuals depicting the area inundated.

Heavy waterlogging in Thiruvananthapuram

On Wednesday, continuous rains resulted in heavy waterlogging in Kochi and the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram. While moderate rains persisted throughout the morning, relentless heavy downpours struck various parts of the state capital in the afternoon, causing sudden waterlogging on main roads and narrow streets. The inundation posed challenges for commuters heading to the railway station and bus stands in the city centre.

Rainwater seeped into shops and commercial establishments in the bustling Chalai market and the SS Kovil road. Vehicles, including cars and two-wheelers, navigated the waterlogged streets slowly, while pedestrians found themselves stranded, unable to progress forward.

Inundation in other parts of Kerala

- Heavy rainfall and strong winds over the past two days inflicted widespread damage and disrupted normal life in coastal Alappuzha district. Low-lying areas, including Champakulam, Nedumudy, and Kainakari, experienced flooding, with water entering several houses.

- Heavy waterlogging created difficulties in Kayamkulam, Haripad, Cherthala, and Kandalloor regions, while gusty winds led to the collapse of the front portion of a tiled-roof house in Ambalapuzha.

- In Thalavady, a house's roof sustained severe damage due to the intense rains and winds. A poultry farm in Kattakkada, Thiruvananthapuram, suffered losses, with over 5,000 chickens perishing as floodwaters inundated the area, news agency PTI reported.

- Potholes filled with water impeded smooth traffic flow on numerous national highways statewide.

- Residents in Kochi and its suburbs initiated cleanup efforts as floodwaters began to recede. This followed extremely heavy rainfall on Tuesday, which triggered widespread inundation and traffic congestion.

- In Kalamassery, floodwaters entered more than 100 houses, prompting evacuation efforts. While experts from Cochin University of Science and Technology attributed the extreme rainfall to a possible cloudburst, official confirmation from the IMD is pending.

- According to the Disaster Management Authority, cited by PTI, 2,054 people from 666 families have been relocated to 34 relief camps across the state thus far.