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As the country approaches the 2024 General Elections, one leader who could be seen as one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reign is Rahul Gandhi. Rahul's growing popularity was recently witnessed when he undertook a five-month-long Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The foot march, which was launched with an eye to revive the grand old party's flagging fortunes, covered 3,570 km and crossed 12 states and two Union Territories. During the march, the Indian National Congress won state assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and an emphatic victory in Karnataka four months after the march.
Rahul was also at the centre stage when he got disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha on March 24, 2023 after a Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Gujarat’s Surat convicted and sentenced him for two-year imprisonment on charges of criminal defamation for comments he made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname. Before his disqualification as an MP, Rahul was critical of the ruling government in the parliament and raised his voice against PM Modi's alleged soft corner towards business tycoon Gautam Adani
Soon after his disqualification, Rahul said, “Democracy is finished in this country. The people of the country cannot speak what is on their mind and the institutions are under attack. The mechanism of that attack is the relationship between Narendra Modi and Adani. That is the foundation.” Rahul echoed his 2019 chowkidar-chor-hai line and blended it with his refrain on democratic backsliding that was a refrain in his speeches in the UK. The former didn’t have much of an echo then and how resonant will a refresh of that be is anybody’s guess. But in a pre-election year, he made it clear that his campaign against the Government — after the Bharat Jodo Yatra — rested on these two planks..
Taking a cue from the success of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul has consistently been making attempts to meet common people on the streets, addressing young gatherings in universities and raising his voice against the Modi regime.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul was president of the party and led the Opposition campaign. But the Grand Old Party failed miserably in the elections winning only 52 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha. Rahul lost his home turf Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani but won from Wayanad in Kerala. The son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul had earlier appeared to be a reluctant entrant to politics like his father. He entered electoral politics in 2004. He was appointed as the party general secretary in 2007 and was elevated to vice president of the party in January 2013. He took over as the Congress president from his mother Sonia Gandhi in December 2017.
Despite everything, Rahul has clearly evolved as a leader and a lot will depend on how he drives the election campaign first in four states (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana) and then for the 2024 General Elections to be most likely held in May-June.
He will once again be contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Kerala's Wayanad seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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In today’s edition: Decoding Congress’s Rae Bareli decision, a lookback at India’s past elections, Heeramandi review; and more
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Terming him ‘Dilli ka Beta (the Son of Delhi)’, Goyal also attacked the INDIA bloc and its candidate for the seat, former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, and the AAP-Delhi government whose Chief Minister along with his other cabinet colleagues, was behind bars.
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Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over campaigning for his alliance candidate accused of rape and also for insulting senior political leaders of the country such as NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.
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"When Amethi did not support him ... the people of Wayanad ensured a huge victory," says an independent member of Wayanad's Mullankolly panchayat.
September 21, 2023 10:18 pm
The Gandhi scion went on to don the red uniform shirt and badge they gave him and briefly carried a suitcase on his head as he walked along with them.
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This week marked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's return to the Parliament after being suspended as an MP over a defamation case.
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March 25, 2023 11:35 am
January 30, 2023 4:42 pm
Amid snowfall in Srinagar, Opposition party leaders joined Rahul Gandhi to mark the culmination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
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Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi, hoisted the Tricolour at Lal Chowk, after resuming his march from the city’s Pantha Chowk earlier in the day.
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Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress Wednesday appointed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as general secretary of Uttar Pradesh East. She will take charge in the second week of February.
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K Chandrashekhar Rao will continue as Chief Minister of Telangana for a second term. The victory is, for the most part, not a surprise. But here’s what worked in his favour. And what about the Congress-TDP alliance? Liz Mathew breaks it down.
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In the five states where elections were held, here's what national leaders of the BJP and Congress promised to the people.
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Both Congress and the BJP are fighting a tough battle in Chhattisgarh this year. As the second phase on voting state in underway, we look at what both parties are promising, to woo the voters.