Rahul Gandhi claims NDA govt could ‘struggle’ to strive
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has claimed that the NDA government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, could “struggle’’ to survive in its third term after failing to secure a majority.
The Congress MP told the UK’s Financial Times that the outcome of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has led to a “tectonic shift” in Indian politics.
In his first interview since the Lok Sabha poll results were declared on June 4, Rahul Gandhi said: “The space in the Indian political system has been blown open. A tectonic shift has taken place in Indian politics. The numbers are such that they are very fragile, and the smallest disturbance can drop the government.”
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Opposition INDIA bloc performed better than what the exit polls had predicted, securing 234 of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha which was powered by a strong showing in the bellwether state of Uttar Pradesh. Congress also delivered its best performance in 15 years by bagging 99 seats. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 293 seats and secured a third term, but the saffron party, with 240 seats, failed to get the magic number of 272.
Rahul Gandhi claimed there was “great discontent” within PM Modi’s camp and hinted at possible defections. “There are people who are in touch with us from within it,” he stated, without going into specifics. “Basically, one ally has to turn the other way,” he told FT.
The Gandhi scion characterised the 2024 election results as a mandate against the BJP’s divisive politics. “The idea that you can spread hatred, you can spread anger and you can reap benefits of that — the Indian people have rejected it in this election,” he said.
“The party that spent the last 10 years talking about Ayodhya has been wiped out in Ayodhya….essentially what has happened is that the basic architecture of BJP — the idea of creating religious hatred — that has collapsed,” said Gandhi, former Congress president, who won both Raebareli and Wayanad Lok Sabha seats. He has given up the Wayanad seat from Kerala and kept the Raebareli seat in Uttar Pradesh. His younger sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who is also general secretary of the Congress party is all set to make her electoral debut from Wayanad.
