Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | From not knowing strength of LS to calling Lord Jagannath 'a devotee' of PM Modi, a look at gaffes this poll season

Several gaffes and faux pas by politicians made headlines this election season.

Attempting to slam Tejashwi Yadav, Kangana Ranaut slams party colleague Tejasvi Surya instead

BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut, BJP's Tejasvi Surya and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav (L-R).

Actor and Mandi BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut mistakenly named her party colleague Tejasvi Surya while intending to target RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav during an election rally.

Addressing a gathering in the Sundernagar area of Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, Ranaut, while referring to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, stated that the opposition alliance is full of "spoiled princes".

"Bigde hue shehzadon ke ek party hai, chahe woh Rahul Gandhi ho jayen, jinhe chand mein aalo ugane ho; Tejasvi Surya ho jayen, jo apni gunda-gardi karte hai, machli uchal uchal ke khate hai (There is a party of spoiled princes, which includes Rahul Gandhi, who wants to grow potatoes on the moon, and Tejasvi Surya, who is a hooligan who shows off while eating fish)," Ranaut said, after which several netizens poked fun at her on social media.

Tejasvi Surya is the BJP's Bangalore South MP and the party's candidate from the same constituency, while Tejashwi Yadav is an RJD leader.

Yadav reacted to Ranaut's gaffe, sharing a clip of her speech, saying, "Yeh kaun mohtarma hain? (Who is this lady?)."

Sambit Patra finds himself in hot water for saying 'Lord Jagannath a devotee of Narendra Modi'

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra.

BJP leader and party's Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra committed a gaffe while speaking to reporters when he said that the state's most revered deity, "Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

Patra later clarified that it was a slip of the tongue and he wanted to say that the PM was an ardent 'bhakt' (devotee) of Lord Jagannath and not the other way round.

Patra apologised and announced that he would undertake penance by observing a fast for three days

The issue was aggravated when Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik strongly condemned Patra’s statement and appealed to the BJP to keep Lord Jagannath above the political discourse.

What's the strength of the Lok Sabha? Perhaps don't ask Nitish Kumar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was trolled on social media for predicting that the NDA will win "more than 4,000 seats", several times the sanctioned strength of the Lok Sabha.

Kumar, who heads the JD(U) and returned to the BJP-led coalition only months ago, made the faux pas at a rally in Nawada district where he spoke in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a speech that went viral, Kumar can be heard fumbling "char lakh (four lakh)", before correcting himself and uttering "char hazaar se bhi zyada (more than 4,000)", while turning towards the PM, whom he has been wishing a "400-plus tally" in the elections.

On the wrong side of 70, Kumar, the longest-serving chief minister of Bihar, has experience being in the news for his slips of the tongue several times.

His earlier reference to himself as a former Union Home Minister was ridiculed by the BJP, which was in the opposition at the time, with the saffron party alleging that the veteran leader was betraying senility.

Samajwadi Party's Shivpal Yadav appeals for 'BJP victory'

Samajwadi Party's Shivpal Singh Yadav.

In an election meeting at Jaswant Nagar in the presence of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, party heavyweight Shivpal Yadav made a gaffe by asking voters to ensure that "the BJP wins with a huge margin".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi then latched on to Yadav's slip of the tongue, saying that the late Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother wants to "help the BJP win".

Does Himanta know something we don't?

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

A slip of the tongue by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a public rally where he interchanged the official designations of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah kicked off a political controversy in the state.

During his speech, Sarma expressed his gratitude to "Prime Minister Amit Shah and our dear Home Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president J P Nadda for their guidance and inspiration."

The BJP maintained it was a "human error", while the Opposition smelled a "conspiracy to promote" Shah as the next prime minister.

Chavan 'forgets' he's joining the BJP during said joining

File Photo: Former Maharashtra CM and Congress leader Ashok Chavan with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after joining the BJP, in Mumbai.

Ashok Chavan, the former Congress stalwart who jumped ship to the BJP, committed a gaffe when he mistakenly referred to Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar as the Congress' city unit president during his joining speech at the saffron party's state headquarters in Mumbai.

The room filled with laughter before Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stepped in to rectify the error.

Chavan, in a moment of chagrin, acknowledged the mistake, attributing it to his long-standing allegiance to the Congress party.

Regaining his composure, he remarked, "It's a slip of the tongue. This marks my inaugural day at the BJP headquarters, and I request you to excuse me."

BJP MP thanks 'PM Nitish Kumar' for Vande Bharat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi aboard the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express train, in Gandhinagar.

Sunil Kumar Singh, the BJP MP from Aurangabad, ended up thanking "Prime Minister Nitish Kumar" for the Vande Bharat train between Patna and Ranchi while campaigning in Bihar's Gaya.

Singh, whose parliamentary constituency covers a part of Gaya district, told reporters, "I thank Prime Minister Nitish Kumar for this precious gift to people of south Bihar".

In a video clip that went viral, Singh can be seen standing beside Prem Prakash Chintu, the BJP's Gaya district chief, who embarrassedly points out the faux pas to the MP.

Singh takes a few seconds to correct himself and repeats his statement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name.

With PTI inputs

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