Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday sought to portray the upcoming elections as a mere formality, stressing that the country had already expressed its overwhelming mandate in favour of the BJP.

Addressing a BJP rally at Nagarkurnool in Telangana just hours before the announcement of the poll schedule, Modi tried to build the narrative of a no-contest election, claiming the country had already endorsed his poll slogan: “Abki baar 400 paar” (This time, 400 plus seats).

“The bugle for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls is going to be sounded soon... But my dear brothers and sisters, even before the formal announcement of the dates, the people of the country have announced the results. The country has declared, ‘Abki baar 400 paar’,” Modi told the rally, urging the crowd to raise the slogan along with him.

Modi, who has been campaigning in the southern states since Friday, also encouraged the crowd to raise the slogan “Teesri baar, Modi sarkar” (For the third time, a Modi government).

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the southern states would vote in the initial rounds of polling in seven phases. Modi will campaign in the south till Tuesday.

After the announcement of the poll dates, Modi put out a series of posts on X saying the BJP-NDA were fully prepared for the elections. “We are going to the people on the basis of our track record of good governance and service delivery across sections,” he said.

He slammed the Opposition, accusing it of being “rudderless and issueless”. “All they (Opposition) can do is abuse us and practise vote bank politics,” he said. “Their dynastic approach and attempts of dividing society are not being accepted. Equally hurting them is their corruption background,” he added, claiming that “people don’t want such leadership”.

The BJP, taking advantage of the disarray in the Opposition INDIA bloc, has been trying to set the poll stage as a “no alternative to Modi”.

Addressing his second rally of the day in Karnataka’s Kalburgi, Modi tried to underline the same narrative. He claimed that Karnataka, disillusioned by the Congress rule, had resolved to give a record number of seats to the BJP.

For Modi and the BJP, the focus of this election is the southern states that have mostly remained out of saffron bounds. The party needs to win a good number of Lok Sabha seats in the region to reach close to Modi’s ambitious target of 370 seats for the BJP and 400 plus for the NDA.

Modi has made several trips to the south this year, appearing determined to use his charisma to get the voters to back BJP nominees.

On Saturday, he campaigned in two Congress-ruled states of Telangana and Karnataka and used the corruption bogey to urge the voters to elect a large number of BJP MPs.

“To save Telangana from Congress loot and to ensure that the voice of the people here reaches Delhi, the lotus should bloom on every Lok Sabha seat,” Modi said.

He spoke in the same refrain in Karnataka, accusing the Congress government of having gone back on its poll promises.

“Coal can be ridden of the black colour but corruption cannot be taken out of the Congress,” he said in Kalburgi.