Days after declaring in the Lok Sabha in his maiden speech as the Leader of the Opposition that the INDIA alliance will defeat the BJP in Gujarat, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the state on Saturday. His packed schedule included meeting family members of party workers arrested after a clash with BJP workers that took place recently outside the party office in Ahmedabad as also the kin of those who perished in various tragedies such as the Rajkot gaming zone fire, the Morbi bridge collapse and the boat capsize in Vadodara.
It was an aggressive Rahul who sought to keep up the momentum of his attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP since the inaugural session of the new Lok Sabha.
In his speech in the Lok Sabha, Rahul had declared that the INDIA alliance would defeat the BJP in Gujarat. “I can give it to you in writing,” he had said looking at the treasury benches.
His visit to Ahmedabad clearly intended to convey that he was taking the fight to Modi’s backyard, Rahul launched a no holds barred attack on the prime minister and the BJP as he addressed party workers. He declared that the Congress will defeat the BJP in the state in the next Assembly election just as the BJP was defeated in Ayodhya in the Lok Sabha polls.
“They have challenged us by threatening us and causing damage to our office. We will together break their government like they damaged our office. Take it in writing that the Congress will contest in Gujarat and defeat Narendra Modi and the BJP in Gujarat like we did in Ayodhya,” he said addressing a party workers' convention in Ahmedabad.
Rahul’s visit to Gujarat came in the wake of clash between members of the Congress and the BJP outside the party’s state headquarters in Ahmedabad on July 2. The clash had taken place when the BJP’s youth wing workers gathered outside the Congress office to protest Rahul's remarks made in Parliament which they claimed were anti-Hindu.
According to a senior Congress leader, the visit was primarily intended to convey to the BJP that the Congress will react proactively to any acts by the ruling dispensation which amount to intimidating or suppressing the party’s members.
Rahul met the family members of the Congress workers who were arrested after the July 2 clash. Five party workers were arrested. The Congress leader was scheduled to meet the arrested party workers but was unable to as they were sent to judicial custody today.
The Congress leader also met the families of those who died in various tragedies in the state. Amongst them were the kin of those who perished in the Rajkot fire incident, the Morbi bridge collapse and the boat capsize in Vadodara. He promised to raise their issues in the upcoming session of Parliament.
The next Assembly elections in Gujarat are scheduled to be held in 2027, and party leaders say that despite Rahul's bold statements, it will be an uphill task to pose a challenge to the BJP. The party has weakened considerably since 2017, when it came within sniffing distance of a victory in Gujarat, with many leaders deserting it. Incidentally, the 2017 campaign was led by Rahul.
