Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday invoked Mughal-era poet Mirza Ghalib to ridicule the Congress after the latter claimed that it would win 150 seats in the year-end assembly polls in the central state.
The CM said that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would bag more than 200 seats in MP's 230-member House. The BJP also coined the slogan "Abki Baar, 200 Paar" (will cross 200-mark this time).
"Mann behlane ko Ghalib ye khayal achha hai, khayali pulao pakate rahiye (the thought of diverting the mind, Ghalib, is a good one. Keep indulging in vain speculations). BJP will win more than 200 seats in the state," Mr Chouhan told PTI Video team when asked about former Congress president Rahul Gandhi exuding confidence that his party would bag 150 seats in the upcoming MP polls.
Mr Chouhan along with Union minister Bhupender Yadav was taking part in a programme to highlight the achievement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in the past nine years.
Speaking to the media after their poll preparedness meeting at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi said the party would continue its winning streak in Madhya Pradesh after emerging victorious in Karnataka.
Mr Gandhi along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge met top party leaders from MP where all state leaders stressed the need for unity within the party. Former CM and MP Congress chief Kamal Nath and AICC in-charge P Aggarwal were among those present during the meeting.
Assembly elections in MP are due later this year along with Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh among other states.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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