"He ran away to Varanasi...," Mallikarjun Kharge on PM Modi's 'Daro Mat Bhago Mat' remarks on Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency on Friday.

"He (PM Modi) himself has run away to Varanasi, ask him," Kharge asked.

After a lot of speculation, Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers from Raebareli on Friday.RaeBareli is considered a traditional stronghold of the Gandhi family. There was anticipation earlier that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest from either Amethi or Raebareli, two seats in Uttar Pradesh which are prestige battles for the party.

Earlier, PM Modi attacked Rahul Gandhi mockingly 'Daro Mat Bhago Mat' after he decided to contest from Raebareli.

Addressing a rally in the Purba Bardhaman district on Friday, PM Modi said, "There's no need for an opinion poll or exit poll...I said this much earlier. I predicted on the floor of Parliament two months ago that their (Congress') biggest leader (Sonia Gandhi) would stand down from contesting these elections. And just as I had foreseen, she (resigned as the Raebareli MP and) took a seat in the Rajya Sabha from Jaipur."

"I also told you earlier that the Shehzada 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!)," he added.

Meanwhile, Varanasi is the stronghold of the Prime Minister who won the seat twice in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

BJP has again fielded PM Modi from Varanasi and Congress has fielded Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai.

This will be the most anticipated contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Narendra Modi won the constituency in both the 2014 and 2019 general polls with a resounding majority.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi won the seat with over 674,664 votes and commanded a vote share of 63.6 per cent.

Earlier in 2014, PM Modi fought on two Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat's Vadodara and the second was Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.

PM Modi won the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat by securing 845,464 votes with 72.8 per cent. Congress candidate Madhusudan Mistry secured 275,336 votes with 23.7 per cent.

The Varanasi seat comprises five Assembly segments including Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, Sevapuri.

The voting for the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency will be held in the seventh phase of the elections on June 1. The counting of the votes will be held on June 4. (ANI)