In a recent interview with the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has stated that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government can be defeated in the 2024 national elections if all opposition parties come together and offer an alternative. Gandhi believes that if two visions of India confront each other, the opposition parties will be able to prevail. The interview was published just days before the 85th plenary of the Congress’s central decision-making body in Raipur, which will be attended by over 15,000 delegates and will discuss various issues such as economy, employment, and social justice to set the tone for the Congress’s national poll campaign.
Gandhi acknowledged the polarization between Hindus and Muslims but emphasized that the situation was not as dire as portrayed by the media at the government’s behest. He believes that the government uses polarization as a tool to distract people from real issues such as poverty, illiteracy, inflation, and the post-covid crisis of small, indebted entrepreneurs and farmers. Gandhi also expressed concern about the state of justice, centralism, and freedom of the press in India. He suggested that fascism is already present in the country, and the balance of powers is off, as parliament is no longer working. He further added that he has not been able to speak in parliament for two years, as soon as he speaks, they switch off his microphone.
Gandhi also discussed India-China relations and advocated for peaceful competition, rather than a confrontational approach. He believes that the West cannot compete with China on an industrial level, especially in low-value-added production.
Furthermore, Gandhi referred to his Bharat Jodo yatra, which was Congress's biggest public outreach in decades, stating that it was more like a tapasya. The yatra made him understand the extraordinary resilience of the Indian people, and he believes that tapasya, which is difficult for a Western mind to understand, is a word in Sanskrit that translates to sacrifice and patience.
Rahul Gandhi's interview covers various topics such as Indian politics, polarization, the state of democracy in India, India-China relations, and his Bharat Jodo yatra. He believes that the BJP government can be defeated in the 2024 national elections if all opposition parties come together and offer an alternative. However, the road to the elections is a long one, and it remains to be seen whether the opposition parties can come together and provide a credible alternative to the current government.