Amit Shah Critiques Rahul Gandhi as Congress Faces 41-Year Losing Streak in Gujarat Elections
Amit Shah highlights Congresss 41-year electoral failure in Gujarat, urging Rahul Gandhi to reflect on the partys performance.
New Delhi, October 13 (Daily Kiran) : Central Home Minister Amit Shah has targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi following the Indian National Congress’s continued electoral failures in Gujarat. Speaking on Tuesday, he pointed out that the Congress party has not won an election in the state for 41 years, suggesting it is time for serious introspection. Shah attributed the recent success of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in local body elections to voter support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the latest local body elections, the BJP secured 90 out of 104 seats across three municipal bodies in Gujarat. In the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, which falls under Shah’s parliamentary constituency, the BJP won 38 of 44 seats. He noted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contested all 32 seats but lost its deposits on each one. Furthermore, he claimed that the BJP’s vote share in Gandhinagar increased by 10% compared to the last election.
Shah emphasized that Gujarat voters have reaffirmed their trust in Modi’s leadership. He reminded Gandhi that the last time Congress won an election in Gujarat was in 1985, marking a long history of defeats since then.
The Home Minister also criticized Gandhi regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, questioning if the results of the local elections were influenced by this process. He urged Congress leadership to reflect on their political standing rather than dismissing the BJP and Modi’s popularity as merely a result of SIR.
Shah highlighted that it is concerning for a party that once held power in a significant state like Gujarat to go without a victory for 41 years. He referenced recent by-elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, pointing out that Congress failed to secure a single seat in any of these regions. For instance, in Naogaon, a BJP candidate won by a margin of 142,000 votes, while in Nandigram, the BJP candidate received 76% of the votes, winning by a large margin of 122,000 votes.
He also mentioned the BJP’s victory in the Reginagar seat of West Bengal, where they won by more than 75,000 votes, taking the seat from the Trinamool Congress. In Puducherry, an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the All India N.R. Congress, won with a margin of 8,482 votes, while Congress managed only 22% of the votes.
Shah praised the BJP’s performance in Rajasthan’s local body elections, claiming victories in 90% of municipal corporations, 66% of municipal councils, and 65% of municipalities. He stated that these results should serve as a lesson for Rahul Gandhi, noting that in Rajasthan, over 85% of the wards saw AAP lose their deposits.
Lastly, Shah remarked on the outcomes of the Gram Panchayat elections in Tripura, where the NDA won nearly 4,000 seats, achieving a significant vote share of 77.5%. He interpreted these electoral results as a clear indication of public support for the BJP and its allies, urging Congress to assess the reasons behind its persistent electoral defeats and the state of its organization.
