'India unanimously decided it doesn't want Modi', Rahul Gandhi on election comeback

• Gandhi says he was confident that people would give right response
• Congress leader wins both UP, Kerala seats in stunning comeback.
• Modi fails to achieve landslide victory in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

As the counting of votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections moves towards culmination, India’s main opposition leader and Congress member Rahul Gandhi has said that the Indians unanimously decided that they don’t want the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Narendra Modi, who is the current prime minister of the country.

The poll result disappointed the BJP, which seems to fall below the majority mark of 272 even though the ruling alliance is all set to form the government, as per Times of India.

Meanwhile, the Congress, which faced successive defeats in the past two Lok Sabha elections, appears poised to surpass the 100-seat mark. This resurgence signals a potential revival for the party after a period of electoral setbacks.

Referring to Modi’s failure to achieve a landslide victory, Gandhi — who won both Uttar Pradesh and Kerala seats in a stunning comeback — said on Tuesday that the people had collectively punished the right-wing nationalist politician.

It may be noted that both the arch-rivals have been re-elected as members of Parliament, as confirmed by India’s election commission.

"I was confident that the people of this country would give the right response,” the 53-year-old scion of the Gandhi family was addressing a press briefing after election commission figures showed the government projected to return with a reduced majority.

He said that they had fought this election against the entire state machinery. It was not just a fight against a political force but a fight to protect the country’s Constitution, the judiciary, and the ED as these institutions “have been captured by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.”

Raising a copy of the Constitution in his hand, Gandhi said, “The fight was to save the Constitution… we were sure that the citizens of India would make attempts to guard it and I would like to thank everyone.”

Gandhi lashed out at the ruling party for breaking political parties, putting chief ministers in jails and playing every possible tactic against the Congress.

He said that the election results were a clear message from the people to Modi, “we do not want you”.

Gandhi said that the most underprivileged citizens of the country had made the majority of efforts to save the constitution.

When asked about forming an alliance, the politician said that they had not yet made a decision regarding the future but a decision would be made after consultation with the allies. He also said that they hadn’t decided about forming the government or sitting on the opposition benches.

Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) have formed the bloc INDIA and have made a remarkable comeback taking the lead over the BJP-led NDA in Uttar Pradesh.

After the seven phases of polling for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 ended on June 1, exit polls had painted a positive picture for the BJP-led NDA government, predicting a remarkable third term for PM Modi. 

Additional input from AFP