After the fifth round of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha election, the Congress on Monday said only 15 days remain for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's departure, claiming that winds of change are blowing across the country and the INDIA opposition bloc is set to sweep the ruling NDA away.

In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said with five phases of polling concluded, voting for 428 seats is over and only 15 days remain for Modi's departure.

"The trends that have been emerging since Phase 1 have only gained strength: it is clear that for the BJP, it is South mein Saaf, North, West and East mein Half.

"It appears that the INDIA alliance has already crossed the halfway mark of 272 seats and is on course for a tally of over 350 seats in total. The departure of Mr Modi is now all but sealed. Backbreaking price rise, record-high unemployment, and the BJP's threats to change the Constitution and end reservations have all made it very clear in the Indian voters' mind -- Modi must go," Ramesh said in a post on X.

He said the election has continued to centre around the Congress's positive campaign and that the grand old party's "Nyay Patra" (manifesto) and guarantees are the focus of the messaging of all other political parties.

"The slogan of 'Khata-Khat' has captured the imagination of the people, to the extent that even the outgoing PM has been forced to respond to it. The announcement of our final Guarantee -- of doubling the allotment of free foodgrain for each individual under the National Food Security Act -- has caught fire in North and East India," the former Union minister noted.

"Every single ground report is very clear. Hawa badal rahi hai, Aandhi ban rahi hain. The INDIA Janbandhan is set to sweep the NDA away. June 4th is coming," Ramesh said on the microblogging platform, using the opposition bloc's tagline -- "Badlega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA!" He said as his last days in office approach, Modi has continued with his usual "3D" election campaign -- to "Distort, Divert and Defame".

"After failing to come up with a single positive agenda, and after being forced to bury '400 paar' and 'Modi ki Guarantee', the outgoing PM took a rabidly communal turn. The open resort to communal hatred and the failure to run a mature, agenda-driven campaign after ten years in office has backfired spectacularly. Cowed by the backlash, the PM has now made the claim that he would be 'ineligible for public life' if he ever had to resort to Hindu-Muslim politics," the Congress leader said.

Training his guns on the Election Commission (EC), he said, the "deep slumber" of the poll panel has been unfortunate. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with Modi leading from the front, violates the Model Code of Conduct on a daily basis, he alleged.

"The use of religious symbols in polling, advertisements on polling day, videos on social media showing repeat-voting by BJP workers: they have all raised questions about the ECI's ability to hold the outgoing PM accountable. We also continue to hope for immediate publication of turnout figures as soon as possible after the conclusion of voting," Ramesh said.

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