The Congress was left red-faced after a video surfaced on social media, showing a picture of Union Minister and BJP candidate Faggan Singh Kulaste on a banner at Rahul Gandhi's rally in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla Lok Sabha seat on April 8.
While the Congress termed the goof-up a "human error", Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the Opposition party had accepted defeat even before the elections.
The purported video showed a picture of Mr. Kulaste on a banner serving as a backdrop of the stage at the rally scheduled later in the day at Dhanora, some 80 km from Seoni district headquarters under the Mandla Lok Sabha seat.
In the video, workers were seen covering the Union Minister's picture with an image of Rajneesh Harvansh Singh, the Congress MLA from the Keolari Assembly seat.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the Congress has already accepted defeat by putting up a picture of BJP candidate Kulaste. "This shows the Congress's seriousness. They put up a picture of the BJP candidate instead of their own. They have accepted defeat even before the elections," he said.
Talking to PTI, senior Congress leader K. K. Mishra termed the banner goof-up a "human error". "The BJP has made it a habit to politicise every issue even if it is a human error. We can't say anything about such habits of the BJP," he said.
Mr. Gandhi will address a rally for Congress candidate from Mandla Omkar Singh Markam, a former Minister and sitting MLA from Dindori.
