Massive undercurrent against BJP govt: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, December 31

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the ruling BJP would find it “very hard” to win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections if a united Opposition went to the people with an alternative vision.

“The Opposition has to coordinate… go to the people with an alternative vision. There is a massive undercurrent against the BJP government,” Rahul said in response to a question by The Tribune at his year-end press conference here.

“If the Opposition stands effectively with a vision, what I am hearing and seeing on the ground during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, it will be very difficult for the BJP to win,” he said. The Congress ex-chief, however, clarified merely going to the people won’t do. Dwelling on the position of the Congress in the Opposition, Rahul said he respected other parties, “but was clear that only the Congress could provide the ideological framework needed to defeat the BJP”. “This is no longer a tactical political fight where some groups join and defeat the BJP. That bus has been missed. This is because the entire institutional framework of the country is now in the hands of one ideology, which dominates the political space completely. To defeat them, there is need for an ideology,” he said.

Rahul has completed 108 days of ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, which will culminate in Srinagar in January. “If you look at the Samajwadi Party, it does not have a national ideology, though they do have a positioning in UP. The SP’s idea will not work in Kerala, Karnataka or Bihar. So, there is a need for a central ideological framework, which only the Congress can provide,” the Wayanad MP stressed. He said the role of the Congress was to take on the BJP and ensure the Opposition felt comfortable and respected.

Rahul attributed the absence of the larger Opposition from ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ to “political compulsions” of non-BJP leaders. “But I know, they are all with us and want an India full of love, not hate. Sometimes, there are political compulsions. But we have ideological similarities and a relationship,” he said.

Reviving attack on the government over the LAC issue, he accused the ruling BJP of “exploiting the forces”. “I come from a family of martyrs. I don’t want soldiers to get hurt. The government has completely mishandled the Chinese matter. The Congress-led UPA had managed to keep China and Pakistan isolated, but today these two countries are one and now there’s a risk,” Rahul said, noting that he saw Doklam and Tawang as preparations for a larger offensive. — TNS

Oppn must unite

It’s difficult for BJP to win in 2024 if Opposition unites… only Congress can provide ideological framework. — Rahul Gandhi, Cong