Elections
New Delhi:
Rahul Gandhi, who takes over as Congress president on Saturday, has asserted that his political rivalry with Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not extend to hatred. In fact, he said, he feels only love.
"I can have two reactions when they say something about my father who I love, when they abuse me. I can either hate or love even more. The more they place hurdles before me, the stronger I get. Modi ji helps me most, how can I hate him?" said Mr Gandhi in an interview to Gujarati news channel GSTV. "There is zero anger or hatred in me," he said.
Rahul Gandhi, who returned to Delhi on Tuesday after wrapping up an intense campaign for the Gujarat assembly elections, is confident that his party is set to reverse the trend of the state choosing BJP for the last 22 years.
"The BJP is afraid in this election," he said in the interview, stating that all the issues that he brought up in his aggressive campaign to attack the BJP with are issue of the people. "I only say what Gujarat is saying, what the people have told me their problems are. The BJP is afraid of what the people are saying, not of what Rahul Gandhi is saying," he said.
In his speeches in Gujarat, Mr Gandhi has attempted to consolidate the support of groups who are seen to be upset with the BJP, urging farmers and traders to punish the ruling party over PM Modi's economic policies like the notes ban and new national tax GST that he alleges have brought them to their knees. He has also strategically partnered with young caste leaders who accuse the BJP of betraying their communities.
The bitter Gujarat campaign, that ended yesterday and the state votes in the second and last phase tomorrow. It had voted in the first phase on Saturday. Results will be announced on Monday, December 18.
