The Gandhi siblings have performed a central position within the Congress’s comeback this time
New Delhi:
From ‘pappu’ to ‘shehzade’, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has been the prime goal of BJP’s ridicule for years. Jabs on the Gandhi household have been the BJP chief’s most important line of assault on the most important Opposition Congress in each election over the previous decade. However as Congress inches in the direction of a 100-seat tally on this Lok Sabha election — its greatest present in a decade — and the INDIA bloc’s tally defies all exit polls, the Gandhi siblings have performed a central position.
Mr Gandhi just about launched his marketing campaign with a Bharat Jodo Yatra throughout the size and breadth of the nation. Whereas the precise influence of the yatra when it comes to Lok Sabha seats gained is a topic of information and debate, there is no such thing as a doubt that his public interactions on the path introduced him out of tv screens to the individuals and contributed to shattering the notion the BJP had created of him.
Visuals of Mr Gandhi petting puppies, hugging individuals and chatting with individuals from each part of the society, from college students to truck drivers to mechanics, confirmed a aspect of him the nation had not seen earlier than.
As for Priyanka Gandhi, many had anticipated her to contest the polls this time, and questions had been raised when she didn’t. In her response, Ms Gandhi Vadra has mentioned in a number of interviews that it was a acutely aware choice. If each she and Rahul contested the election, they’d get tied up with campaigning in a single constituency, she had mentioned, including that the plan was to maintain her free for rallies. The transfer clearly appears to have paid off.
As Mr Gandhi travelled throughout the nation to deal with rallies of the INDIA bloc, Ms Gandhi Vadra additionally took up the duty of main the Congress’s marketing campaign in household strongholds Amethi and Raebareli. 9 hours into the counting, the get together appears set for a win in each seats, together with Amethi, the place Gandhi household loyalist Kishori Lal Sharma has emerged an enormous slayer by defeating Union Minister Smriti Irani — a candy revenge for Rahul Gandhi’s 2019 defeat.
In these seats, Ms Gandhi Vadra was as a lot the get together’s face as its mind. From addressing nukkad sabhas to planning the get together’s strikes, she led the marketing campaign in these status battles from scratch.
The 2024 election additionally noticed her emergence as an orator who charms the viewers and likewise connects with them. Her counterstrike to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cost that the Congress plans to deliver a wealth distribution plan and would take away “mangalsutra” had made nationwide headlines.
“He says the Congress needs to remove your gold, your mangalsutra. The nation has been unbiased for 70 years. The Congress dominated for 55 years. Has anybody robbed you of your gold or your mangalsutra? When the struggle was on, Indira Gandhi gave her gold to the nation. My mom’s mangalsutra was sacrificed for this nation,” she had mentioned.
In keeping with a PTI report, the Congress chief was attending a celebration assembly in Amethi when she instructed the viewers that there was a girl amongst them who wished to teach her daughter, however her father-in-law was in opposition to it. So, the lady stitched sari falls to save cash and ensured that her daughter grew to become a graduate. She then invited the lady to stage because the viewers cheered.
Such interactions smashed the picture the BJP had created for the Gandhi siblings and the ruling get together’s “royal household” jabs misplaced their sheen.
Additionally vital is the truth that the Congress this time contested simply 328 seats out of 543 — its lowest ever, leaving the remaining 215 seats for INDIA allies. Identified to discount laborious for seats after which failing to transform them into wins, this was a giant climbdown by the Mallikarjun Kharge-led get together. And the transfer appears to have paid off.
The Congress should end with half the seats as in comparison with the BJP, however the Gandhi siblings shine in its stellar present. And on the Congress press meet this night, Mr Gandhi underlined sister Priyanka’s contribution within the get together’s efficiency.