Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “kadwa karela” remark about the Congress became one of the more widely discussed political jibes of the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign.
Speaking at a rally in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, on April 8, 2024, Modi compared the Congress to a bitter gourd, arguing that its fundamental character could not change even if attempts were made to make it appear different.
The remark was delivered as part of a broader attack on the Congress and the opposition INDIA alliance during the BJP’s election campaign.
But viewed after the election, the speech also has an interesting political context: the BJP candidates Modi was campaigning for in Chandrapur and Gadchiroli-Chimur both ultimately lost to Congress candidates.
Here is what Modi actually said, what he meant, and what voters subsequently decided.
What Was PM Modi’s ‘Kadwa Karela’ Remark?
During his Chandrapur rally, Modi used the example of karela — bitter gourd — to attack the Congress.
He said, in essence, that even if bitter gourd is fried in ghee or mixed with sugar, its bitterness does not disappear.
He then argued that the same comparison applied to the Congress because, in his view, the party could not change.
The comment was widely reported by PTI and several national publications.
The metaphor was designed as a simple campaign message: Modi was arguing that changes in Congress’s presentation or alliances did not represent a fundamental change in the party.
That was Modi’s political assessment, rather than an objective finding about the Congress.
Why Did Modi Call Congress the ‘Mother of All Problems’?
During the same speech, Modi intensified his criticism by describing Congress as the “mother” or source of the country’s problems.
He raised issues including:
- Partition;
- the Kashmir dispute;
- Naxalism;
- the Ram temple dispute; and
- what he described as Congress’s record on corruption and governance.
Modi presented the 2024 election as a choice between what he described as the stability of the BJP-led NDA and instability under the opposition alliance.
These were campaign claims made by the Prime Minister. Several of the historical and political issues he referenced have complex causes involving different governments, institutions and periods, so they should not be presented simply as settled evidence that one political party caused “all problems” in India.
That distinction is important when reporting political speeches.
Why Was Chandrapur Important in the 2024 Election?
Chandrapur was a strategically important location for Modi’s first Maharashtra campaign rally of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Congress had won the Chandrapur Lok Sabha seat in 2019, making it an important BJP target going into 2024.
The BJP fielded Sudhir Mungantiwar, while Congress nominated Pratibha Dhanorkar.
Modi was also campaigning for BJP candidate Ashok Nete in the neighbouring Scheduled Tribe-reserved Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency.
Both constituencies voted in the first phase on April 19, 2024.
What Happened in Chandrapur After Modi’s Rally?
The election result provides useful context that the original version of this article lacks.
Congress candidate Pratibha Dhanorkar won Chandrapur.
She received:
718,410 votes
while BJP candidate Sudhir Mungantiwar received:
458,004 votes.
Dhanorkar therefore won by a margin of 260,406 votes.
The official election declaration confirms that Dhanorkar was duly elected from Chandrapur.
Chandrapur 2024 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Pratibha Dhanorkar | Congress | 718,410 |
| Sudhir Mungantiwar | BJP | 458,004 |
| Winning margin | 260,406 |
That makes the result particularly notable when revisiting Modi’s campaign speech: despite the strong criticism of Congress at the Chandrapur rally, voters in that constituency returned a Congress MP.
What Happened in Gadchiroli-Chimur?
Congress also won the Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency.
Congress candidate Kirsan Namdeo received 617,792 votes, while BJP’s Ashok Nete received 476,096.
The winning margin was 141,696 votes.
The official declaration confirmed Kirsan Namdeo’s election from the constituency.
So both BJP candidates associated with Modi’s April 8 campaign visit were defeated by Congress candidates.
Maharashtra Gave Congress a Much Stronger Result in 2024
The wider Maharashtra result also differed considerably from 2019.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election:
- Congress won 13 seats in Maharashtra;
- BJP won 9 seats;
- Shiv Sena (UBT) won 9;
- NCP (Sharad Pawar) won 8.
Congress had won only one Maharashtra Lok Sabha seat in 2019, so its performance improved substantially in 2024.
This does not by itself prove or disprove any particular campaign claim, but it provides essential context for readers looking back at Modi’s Chandrapur speech.
Political Metaphors and Election Campaigns
The “kadwa karela” comment is an example of how Indian politicians often use familiar expressions and everyday comparisons to simplify complex political arguments.
Such phrases work well at rallies because they are:
- easy to understand;
- easy to remember;
- easy to quote;
- suitable for short social-media clips; and
- capable of turning political criticism into a recognizable slogan.
But a memorable metaphor is still campaign rhetoric.
For readers and voters, the useful approach is to separate the rhetoric from measurable information such as:
- party manifestos;
- economic records;
- legislation;
- candidate performance;
- voting records; and
- official election results.
What the 2024 Result Tells Us
The Chandrapur result is perhaps the most useful addition when revisiting the story today.
Modi argued during the rally that Congress had lost public support and could not change.
Yet in Chandrapur, Congress increased its winning margin dramatically compared with the previous election, with Pratibha Dhanorkar defeating the BJP candidate by more than 260,000 votes.
At the same time, the BJP-led NDA continued to remain a major national political force and formed the Union government following the 2024 election.
The two facts can coexist.
Political outcomes vary substantially between constituencies, states and national alliances, which is why individual campaign statements should not be treated as substitutes for actual election data.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Narendra Modi say about Congress and karela?
At an April 2024 rally in Chandrapur, Modi compared Congress to bitter gourd, arguing that just as karela remains bitter even when mixed with sugar or fried in ghee, Congress could not fundamentally change.
Why did Modi call Congress the “mother of all problems”?
It was part of his 2024 election campaign criticism. He blamed Congress for several historical and governance-related problems in India. These were political claims made during the campaign.
Where did Modi make the remark?
He made the remark during a Lok Sabha election rally in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, on April 8, 2024.
Who won Chandrapur in the 2024 Lok Sabha election?
Congress candidate Pratibha Dhanorkar won with 718,410 votes, defeating BJP candidate Sudhir Mungantiwar by 260,406 votes.
Final Takeaway
PM Modi’s “kadwa karela” remark about Congress was a memorable piece of political rhetoric from the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign.
At his Chandrapur rally, Modi argued that Congress could not fundamentally change and described the party as the source of many of India’s problems.
Those statements reflected the BJP’s campaign position and should be reported as such rather than treated as established facts.
The eventual election results provide an important follow-up.
Congress won both Chandrapur and Gadchiroli-Chimur, the two constituencies associated with that campaign visit. In Chandrapur, Pratibha Dhanorkar defeated BJP’s Sudhir Mungantiwar by more than 260,000 votes.
That result makes the speech useful to revisit not simply as a viral political jibe, but as part of the larger story of how campaign messaging and voter decisions can sometimes produce very different outcomes.
For more political coverage, visit your Buzz Content Corner Politics section and internally link this article to your Indian General Election 2024 explainer.