Rahul Gandhi’s prediction comes as the Congress party is gearing up for a high-stakes battle against the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. The BJP has been in power in the state for the past 15 years, and the Congress party is hoping to wrest power from them.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday predicted a landslide victory for his party in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. Addressing a public meeting in Vidisha district, Gandhi said that the people of Madhya Pradesh are going to give the Congress party 145–150 seats. He used the metaphor of a “toofan” (storm) to describe the wave of support that the Congress party is receiving in the state, as per a report covered by news agency ANI.
Rahul Gandhi’s prediction comes as the Congress party is gearing up for a high-stakes battle against the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. The BJP has been in power in the state for the past 15 years, and the Congress party is hoping to wrest power from them.
“I have visited Madhya Pradesh several times now. I can tell cent per cent that there will be a ‘toofan’ of the Congress party here. You can write it down; the people of Madhya Pradesh are going to give 145-150 seats to the Congress party,” the Congress leader said. He further slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while talking about the toppling of the Congress government in 2020 and alleged that the BJP leaders, along with the top leadership, purchased MLAs and stole the elected government of Madhya Pradesh.
“Five years ago, all of you (the public) elected the Congress party to the government. You did not elect the BJP, but the Congress party. After that, BJP leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, together, purchased MLAs and stole the elected government of Madhya Pradesh. By giving crores of rupees and purchasing MLAs of the Congress party, your (the public) decision, the voice of your heart, was crushed by the BJP leaders, by the Prime Minister,” Rahul Gandhi said.
He added that you, (the public) were cheated. The billionaires of Madhya Pradesh were not cheated. But the farmers, the labourers, the small traders, and the unemployed youth were cheated.
“We wanted to run your government; we had waived off the loans of farmers. Congress had waived off the loans of 27 lakh farmers. You (the public) would remember the time when BJP leaders had said that the Congress party would not do this work (loan waiver), but we did it,” Gandhi further said.
“We fight the BJP. In Karnataka, we chased them away. In Himachal Pradesh, we chased them away, but not with hatred. We opened ‘Mohabbat ki Dukan’ in ‘Nafrat ka Bazaar’. We are soldiers of non-violence; we don’t hit. But we chased them out with love. We told them that they don’t have a place here; you looted Karnataka; run a ’40 percent government’ so go away. Congress’s government will come here,” the Congress leader added.
The state is set to undergo polls on November 17 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3. Voters will choose legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies. Notably, the last state assembly polls in 2018 saw the Congress come to power, with veteran leader Kamal Nath taking oath as the chief minister. Nonetheless, a political upheaval rocked the state in 2020 after then-Congressman Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with 22 loyalist MLAs, switched over to the saffron camp. The Congress government fell after being reduced to a minority, and the BJP formed the government, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan returning as chief minister.