Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by going after the Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Monday while replying to the debate on the President’s address to Parliament.

PM Modi not only highlighted the achievements of his government but also attacked the Congress party over a range of issues including dynasty politics, corruption and apathetic governance. He exuded confidence about getting his third term in office.

Here are five important takeaways from what could be the PM’s last speech in the 17th Lok Sabha:

BJP’s 370 seats, NDA’s 400

PM Modi said he would return to power at the head of the BJP-led NDA government for the third consecutive term

to set the tone for the country for the next 1,000 years. “I can gauge the mood of the nation, it will definitely give NDA more than 400 seats and the BJP at least 370 seats. And it’s not very far. At most, 100-125 days are remaining,” he said. “Abki baar,” Modi said to the chants of his MPs, “ab ki baar 400 paar.”

While the BJP has already been preparing for the polls with an aim to reach this goal, the PM underlining it on the floor of the Lok Sabha will energise party cadres. Modi’s assertion also seemed to be a bid to make the 2024 poll outcome a “foregone conclusion”.

Congress in a shambles

PM Modi mocked the Congress over its plunging electoral fortunes. “For several decades you (Congress) were sitting here (in the Treasury benches), but now you have resolved to stay there (Opposition benches) for several decades,” he said. “The people will bless you and keep you there. You will achieve greater heights and will be soon seen in the public galleries (of the House),” he added.

The PM also said that many in the Opposition have “lost the courage” to fight elections, so some are trying to change their seats while others want to come to Parliament via Rajya Sabha.

Modi’s blistering attack on the Congress, which was recently routed in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, was also aimed at projecting the point that there is no alternative to the BJP at the Centre.

Cong’s ‘cancel culture’

PM Modi accused the Congress of having allegedly adopted a “cancel culture”. He said: “Congress is trapped in ‘cancel culture’, it seeks to cancel every achievement and success of the country… We say Make in India, Congress says cancel; we say Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Congress says cancel; we say Vocal For Local, Congress says cancel, we say Vande Bharat train, Congress says cancel; we say new Parliament building, Congress says cancel. I am surprised because these are not Modi’s achievements, these are the achievements of the country.”

The PM’s statement could be seen as an attempt to take the wind out of the Congress’s criticism of the government over its development claims, painting the Opposition as one that does not take pride in the country’s achievements.

Dynasty politics

PM Modi again took on the Congress for practising dynasty politics centred round the Gandhi family. Flagging dynasty politics, corruption and failure in governance as the Congress’s key ghosts of the past, he blamed the party for the plight of the Opposition. “It was a time when the country needed constructive Opposition… But the Congress has failed to be a good Opposition and it did not let other parties also to become one. The party did not let other bright leaders to come up. The Congress has done so much damage to itself, the Opposition, Parliament and the country,” Modi said.

This sharp attack comes as the Congress tries to cobble a coalition against the Modi-led BJP, an effort that has threatened to unravel with Nitish Kumar, one of its prime architects, crossing over to the BJP and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee raising her pitch against the party.

The PM also tried to address the Opposition criticism of the BJP too indulging in dynasty politics. According to him, Parivarwad is when a party is led by and solely trusts in one family. “Neither Amit Shah or Rajnath Singh have a political party,” he said.

UPA’s policy paralysis

While reiterating that his government has “filled the ditches” left by the Congress-led UPA government in the past, the PM said his third term would witness India becoming the third largest economy in the world. He took swipes at the Congress by quoting the interim budget speech of former finance minister P Chidambaram in 2014 in which he said the country’s GDP would become the third highest in 30 years.

The PM then listed the targets achieved by various schemes of his government and the time it would have taken to achieve the same under the Congress. He thus tried to showcase his government’s decisive and speedy roadmap as compared to the alternative that the electorate would have in the 2024 polls.