NEW DELHI: Main Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that voters have “punished” Hindu-nationalist and extremist Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after election commission figures showed the government projected to return with a reduced majority.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi marked a stunning comeback, emerging at the center of an alliance that made deep inroads into ruling party strongholds.
Addressing a news conference, Rahul Gandhi pulled out a red-jacketed, pocket-sized version of the country’s constitution that he has referred to continuously during the campaign, and said his alliance’s performance was the “first step” in preventing Modi from attempting to change it.
“Voters have punished the BJP,” Gandhi told reporters. “I was confident that the people of this country would give the right response.”
Rahul Gandhi emphasized that the election was a battle to protect the CBI, judiciary, and ED from alleged capture by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Holding a copy of the Constitution, Gandhi thanked citizens for their efforts to defend it. Gandhi added, “The fight was to save the Constitution”.
As the INDIA bloc managed to halt the BJP’s march towards the majority, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came out to hit out at the BJP, saying that the mandate today was a clear indication that the people of the country do not want PM Modi and Amit Shah to run the country.
Rahul Gandhi, while hitting out at the BJP, said: “This was a fight to save the Constitution of the country and has emerged victorious in it. The country has said that they do not want Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to run the country.”
Rahul Gandhi, who has won from both Wayanad and Rae Bareli, on being asked as to which seat he’d choose, said: “I have received a win from both the seats. I would like to thank the voters of Wayanad and Rae Bareli. I can’t take both seats so I will discuss this and decide which seat I will be keeping.”
On the Amethi win, he said: “The BJP does not respect the people and they do not talk to the people properly. Kishori Lal Sharma has a great relationship with Amethi and it’s the people who have elected him. It’s disrespectful to say that he’s a PA. He has been working with the people all throughout.”
On being asked if there is a chance for government formation, Rahul Gandhi said “We are going to have a meeting with our alliance partners tomorrow and these questions will be discussed there. We respect our partners and we are going to take their opinions before making a decision.”
Commentators and exit polls had projected an overwhelming victory for Modi, whose campaign wooed the Hindu majority to the worry of the country’s 200-million-plus Muslim community, deepening concerns over minority rights.
But for the first time in a decade, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could fail to secure an overall majority of its own, figures from the election commission projected, meaning it would need to rely on its alliance partners.
The election commission figures showed the BJP and its allies (NDA) leading in at least 292 seats out of a total of 543, enough for a parliamentary majority. In comparison, the opposition alliance (INDIA) was leading in 232 seats.
But the BJP itself had won or was leading in only 239, well down from the 303 it took five years ago, while Congress had won or was ahead in 98 and set to nearly double its parliamentary seats.
