Rahul, Modi to address rallies in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh today

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will be in poll-bound Chhattisgarh today to address separate rallies.

According to reports, Gandhi will attend election meetings in Kukshi and Sidhi, while the Gujarat Chief Minister will address election rallies in Satna, Shahdol, Singrauli and Jabalpur.

Earlier, addressing a rally in Chhatarpur, Modi claimed that the UPA-led central government and the Congress Party was finding it difficult to digest the progress being made in BJP-ruled states of the country.

Modi, while praising the development-linked work of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said: "Shivrajji has done a lot of work on the irrigation front. Can you see this development or not? You can see it, but Delhi cannot."

He also criticised the Congress state leadership for spreading rumours that "if you press the "kamal" (BJP symbol) button on the EVM (electronic voting machine), you will get an electric shock." This Modi said reflected the desperation in Congress" rank and file. He also questioned as to why when the chairman of a manufacturing outfit used to be in power, farmers were committing suicide.

However, addressing a rally in Jabalpur on Sunday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh criticized the Modi of resorting to falsehoods and twisting facts for political gains.

"A big BJP leader often resorts to falsehoods. He frequently distorts historical facts. Once in his enthusiasm to attack Congress, he misrepresented facts about a leader who is respected a lot in BJP," he said.

Madhya Pradesh is going to polls on November 25, and results would be announced on December 8, along with those in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and New Delhi.