"If You Have Courage...": Congress' Priyank Kharge On BJP's "Dynast" Jibe

Congress leader Priyank Kharge took offence at the BJP's social media handle in the state referring to him as 'dynast', as he dared them to use the word on several of their leaders in Karnataka whose family members are in politics.

"Dear @BJP4Karnataka, If you have the courage, use and say the word DYNAST to @BSYBJP @BYRBJP @BYVijayendra @BSBommai @ikseshwarappa @Tejasvi_Surya @JagadishShettar @ShashikalaJolle @UmeshJadhav_BJP @BelladArvind among others in Karnataka. (The list is longer across India)," Mr Kharge said in a post on 'X' in the early hours of Sunday, tagging several BJP leaders who have a political lineage.

Priyank, a member of the state cabinet, is the son of Congress national chief Mallikarjun Kharge. His political lineage gave the BJP an opportunity to target the Congress over dynastic politics.

Hitting back at the BJP, Mr Kharge even offered a free DNA test for all leaders in the Opposition party Karnataka who have members of their families in politics.

"Once again, I offer @BJP4India and @BJP4Karnataka leaders for a free DNA test at my expense, if you people are unsure of your origins. Don't hesitate, let us rest this argument of "dynasty politics" once for all. It reflects extremely poorly on your BJP IT cell when they say we are dynasts and legitimate and the rest of you are not dynasts and are still legitimate or aren't you legitimate?" Priyank posted from his X handle.

Earlier, on Saturday, BJP Karnataka responded to a statement by Priyank criticising the Election Commission for scheduling the Lok Sabha polls in seven phases.

"Mr Dynast @PriyankKharge, wipe your tears and bring in your 'star campaigner'. Perhaps, he too can get 'Maximum Mileage' to get our narrative across the country. Hurry up, no more delays!" BJP Karnataka posted on X.

Speaking to ANI after the poll dates were notified on Saturday, "Just like the last time, the Election Commission seems to have announced the dates in a manner that enables PM Modi to extract the maximum mileage and peddle the party's (BJP) narrative across states. The polling, as the EC announced, will be held in seven phases."

Kharge junior claimed further that polling has been phased to ensure that the ruling BJP at the Centre gets more time to have their 'star campaigner' to travel across the length and breadth of the country more easily.

"...it is quite evident that this entire election process is to ensure that the BJP gets more time to have their star campaigner move around the country much more easily," Priyank said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)