Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 13: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, accusing them of blaming the electoral process for repeated poll defeats instead of introspecting on their political shortcomings.
Reacting to the BJP’s sweeping victory in Gujarat’s civic elections, Shah challenged Gandhi to explain whether the Congress would blame the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls for its latest electoral setback as well.
Issuing a political warning to the Congress leadership, Shah said, “2029 mein haar ka mann bana lein (Make up your mind to face defeat in 2029),” asserting that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would return to power with a thumping majority under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Shah alleged that the Congress was using the SIR controversy to protect infiltrators and undermine the electoral process. He urged Gandhi to introspect rather than attribute the party’s repeated electoral defeats to voter-list revisions.
Taking a swipe at Gandhi over his protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Shah questioned the Opposition’s attempts to link its electoral failures to the SIR exercise.
He pointed out that the current SIR exercise began only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while the Congress had continued to lose elections under Gandhi’s leadership.
“Will Rahul Gandhi now say that the Congress lost Gujarat because of SIR?” Shah asked, questioning whether the party would continue to blame the electoral process for every defeat instead of examining its own shortcomings.
The Home Minister’s remarks came after the BJP secured 38 of the 44 seats in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation elections. The party also retained control of the Thara and Okha municipalities.
Shah said the results reflected Gujarat voters’ continued confidence in Modi’s leadership. He also highlighted a 10-percentage-point increase in the BJP’s vote share in the Gandhinagar civic body.
Targeting the Congress’ electoral record in Gujarat, Shah said the party last won the state in 1985 and had failed to regain its political footing in the decades since.
He also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), claiming that its candidates forfeited their deposits in all 32 seats contested by the party in the Gujarat civic elections.
Shah argued that the Congress’ electoral setbacks extended beyond Gujarat and cited results from several states to support his claim that the party was losing political relevance.
Referring to bypolls in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, he said the Congress had failed to win a single seat. In Assam’s Nagaon, the BJP wrested the Lok Sabha seat from the Congress, while in West Bengal, the BJP won in Nandigram and wrested the Rejinagar seat from the Opposition, he claimed.
In Puducherry, Shah cited the victory of an All India NR Congress candidate backed by the NDA as another indication of the ruling alliance’s electoral momentum.
He also highlighted the BJP’s performance in Rajasthan’s local body elections, claiming that the party won 90 per cent of the Municipal Corporation seats, 66 per cent of the Municipal Council seats and 65 per cent of the Municipal Board seats.
Referring to the Gram Samiti elections in Tripura, Shah said the NDA won around 4,000 of the total 4,600 seats. He particularly emphasised that the elections were conducted using ballot boxes, taking a swipe at those who question the credibility of the electoral process after facing defeat.
Shah further said the Congress had failed to win in Tripura for 30 years and in West Bengal for 56 years, questioning how the party could continue to attribute its electoral failures to the functioning of democratic institutions.
Sharpening his attack on Gandhi, Shah said the BJP had consistently won elections since the Congress leader emerged as the party’s prominent face and Leader of the Opposition.
He also dismissed Gandhi’s efforts to unite Opposition parties, arguing that bringing together workers from 14 political parties and gathering a crowd of 8,000 people did not automatically make someone the voice of the country.
“The voice of the country is in its villages, fields, forests and far-flung areas,” Shah said, asserting that the Congress leadership had failed to understand the mood of ordinary voters.
He also cited the Congress’ electoral defeats in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, arguing that the party’s political narrative was increasingly disconnected from the people’s mandate.
On the SIR controversy, Shah alleged that the Congress was opposing the exercise not out of concern for genuine voters but to protect infiltrators. He claimed that the public had understood the party’s political strategy and would reject such attempts.
The Home Minister urged Gandhi and the Congress to undertake serious introspection rather than question constitutional institutions and blame electoral processes for their repeated defeats.