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Soni Mishra
Soni Mishra

GUJARAT POLLS

Be ready for a surprise on December 18, says Rahul Gandhi

PTI9_12_2017_000038B (File photo) Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi

Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday exuded confidence about the party's performance in the assembly elections in Gujarat, saying there may be a surprise on December 18, when the results of the polls will be out.

“I want to congratulate the Gujarat unit of the Congress party for having fought as one in difficult circumstances, and you will see the result on the 18th. And I also want to tell you that may be you will all get a surprise about who has won, how and by what margin,” Rahul said addressing a function of the Mahila Congress in Delhi.

Elaborating on the election campaign, the 47-year-old president-elect of the Congress said the party, in the last three to four months, had established a conversation with the people of Gujarat. “The merger which took place, the discussion which happened between the party and the people, it is a very powerful thing.”

Rahul, who was back in Delhi after wrapping up a spirited campaign of the party in the Gujarat polls, in which he set himself up for a direct fight with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he would want the party to work like this in every state “by respecting the people, listening to them, and working together in a systematic manner.”

Attending the Mahila Congress function, his first party event since he became president-elect, Rahul assured the gathering on the issue of reservation for women in the state legislatures and in Parliament. “There is the issue of reservation for women...there will be no if it happens. It will happen,” he said. The Congress, he said, will pressurise the government to bring the bill in Parliament.

He also said women's representation will be enhanced at every level in the party. “The biggest change in the Congress party will be for women,” he said.

Attacking the RSS, he said the Sangh's ideology was not welcoming of women. “If you look at any picture of Gandhiji, you will definitely see three to four women near him. No woman can enter the RSS organisation. It is their ideology. We have to disseminate the Congress party's ideology in the country. And we need Mahila Congress to do this work,” he said.

“At every level, we have to systematically prepare women, make them fight elections, and women representation will happen at every level,” he said.

Referring to what Congress president Sonia Gandhi has done for empowerment of women, Rahul said she “has pushed your agenda, sometimes silently, mostly openly, and she has helped push a number of women forward.”

“Unfortunately, we don't have a woman president anymore. And we will have to compensate for that. We will need to have more women chief ministers,” he said.

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