Rahul Has Injected Life into the Congress Party
By Shyam Sundar Poddar, Former General Secretary, Jadavpur University Students’ Union
The alleged massive corruption of the Manmohan Singh government was exposed to the public. Arvind Kejriwal took the issue directly to people’s homes. He virtually wiped out the Congress from Delhi. However, his organisation was not nationwide.
The anti-Manmohan Singh movement helped Narendra Modi gain momentum. Narendra Modi promised young people and ordinary citizens that he would win their hearts by providing employment. He claimed that he would give jobs to two crore people every year. Young people wanted jobs, and Modi’s promises appealed to them. He also promised to bring back black money from Swiss banks. Fifteen lakh rupees would be deposited in everyone’s bank account.
The Congress, which had 206 seats, was reduced to just 50 seats under Manmohan Singh. Congress could not even establish itself as the principal opposition party. People began to believe that Congress would disappear forever.
Rahul Gandhi did not lose courage in the face of this tremendous political storm. From the opposition to Nehru to the allegations of corruption against Rajiv Gandhi, the public had witnessed numerous political controversies. Before Modi, the BJP had been defeated in Himachal Pradesh. It had also lost Karnataka.
Modi would not have been able to win Rajasthan if Sachin Pilot, who served as the state Congress president, had not been prevented from becoming Chief Minister. People voted for Sachin Pilot to become Chief Minister, rather than for the allegedly incapable Ashok Gehlot.
Modi could not win Madhya Pradesh either if Kamal Nath had not been complacent. Jyotiraditya Scindia did not leave the Congress and join the BJP under those circumstances.
In the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi revived the Congress in Maharashtra. The party won 13 parliamentary seats there. Had the Congress fought alone, it was expected to win only around 40 seats. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP was brought down from 62 seats to 33.
The Congress won six seats, while Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party reached an agreement with Mayawati’s party. Mayawati’s votes did not go to Akhilesh. She secured five seats, while Akhilesh’s party emerged stronger, increasing its tally from 15 to 37 seats.
People say that Congress won Haryana, but it did not. It was a battle fought on the basis of caste politics, and the Jat community’s political strategy ultimately defeated the Congress.
Rahul Gandhi helped the Congress win in Telangana and Jharkhand, where Hemant Soren was able to secure victory again. Therefore, Mr Modi, please do not spread false propaganda that the Congress has been losing elections ever since Rahul Gandhi entered politics.
You have not given Rahul Gandhi 400 seats. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi helped the Congress reach 99 seats and the opposition alliance secure 240 seats.
This time, the Congress is expected to win in Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. If you have the courage, try to stop it!
Sonia Gandhi has set Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi the target of winning 350 seats.
You say Rahul Gandhi cannot win elections himself. He will win, and he will also help the Congress win 350 seats.