Mallikarjun Kharge terms Lok Sabha Results as Victory of People & Democracy
NEW DELHI, June 4, 2024 (TBINN)
Lampooned as ‘Shehzada’ and dismissed as a serial ‘reinventor’ constantly looking for an identity, Rahul Gandhi may have just had the last laugh this Lok Sabha election.
Rahul Gandhi carried out a padyatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, a hybrid one from Manipur to Mumbai and pretty much set the narrative for the Congress, staying the course as the moral compass of the party – and the I.N.D.I.A. Bloc – who refused to be deterred by setbacks.
As votes were counted for Lok Sabha Election today, the former Congress’ president derided by so many through the campaign was one of the drivers of his party leading or winning close to 100 seats, almost double the 52 from 2019.
Seen riding a tempo, hugging a child, bending down to comfort a woman who had lost her husband or simply taking on Bhartiya Janta Party, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in press conferences, short videos and social media platforms, Rahul Gandhi was the lead in virtually every frame and set-piece of the ruling alliance. Fading out occasionally but returning quickly to centrestage.
The 53-year-old describes himself as the best Chess Player among Indian politicians. His latest gambit of relying on social justice as the running theme of his campaign seems to have paid off with his party making a surprising comeback in the Hindi Belt, making significant gains in Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Congress leaders credit Rahul Gandhi for a campaign that focussed on people’s issues and welfare measures, one of the reasons for the party’s stunning fightback against the high-on-confidence B.J.P.
Congress’ general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the first shot at creating a new narrative for the party was fired by Rahul Gandhi in the Kanyakumari-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra from September 2022 to January 2023.
“He (Gandhi) constantly saying that ‘main nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukaan kholne aaya hu’ was the theme. What gave structure to the 2024 campaign was the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (from Manipur to Mumbai this year) in which Gandhi had unveiled the ‘paanch nyay pachchees guarantee’,” Ramesh said.
The harshest of Rahul Gandhi’s critics would concede that his 2024 campaign was by far his best one as he focussed on bread and butter issues and the party’s welfare guarantees which struck a chord with a section of voters.
Some of his punch lines also caught on and trended on social media. Like his ‘Khata khat khata khat paise ayenge account mein’ refrain while explaining the party’s ‘mahalakshmi’ guarantee under which the party promised to give Rs 8,500 per month to one woman in every poor household if it comes to power.
Prone sometimes to losing his cool, he kept his equanimity right through the 44-day campaign. Rahul Gandhi was forceful but restrained in his attacks at Modi and scathing in his assessment of the media.
Congress’ president Mallikarjun Kharge also said the outcome of Lok Sabha elections was a mandate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a political & moral defeat for him.
Addressing a press conference in National Capital, Mallikarjun Kharge termed the results as victory of people and of democracy.
The B.J.P.-led N.D.A. was ahead in over 290 seats, while the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. Bloc was leading in 232 parliamentary seats.
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