Why is the BJP scared of Rahul Gandhi, asks Shiv Sena

Days after Congress president Rahul Gandhi shared his prime ministerial ambition and the subsequent flak from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for ‘day dreaming’, the Shiv Sena asked its saffron ally if the latter is afraid of him.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said, “If there is any democracy left in the country, the BJP should have welcomed the statement of Gandhi and declared that it will defeat him in the ‘battle of 2019’.”

Gandhi had said he is ready to become the prime minister if the Congress bags maximum seats in the 2019 general elections.

Following Gandhi’s statement during the Karnataka assembly poll campaign in Bengaluru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Congress president is ‘day-dreaming’. It is Gandhi’s democratic right to express his stand and no one should make fun of it, read the editorial.

The BJP questioned Gandhi’s decision to pitch himself as a PM candidate without consulting alliance partners within the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) fold. “PM Modi has started remembering coalition dharma, we are happy about it. On one hand, the Congress is trying to form a coalition of parties, and on the other, it has unilaterally staked a claim for the PM’s post. This amounts to backstabbing their allies, the PM has clearly stated that,” the editorial said. The PM feels that there is lack of communication between the Congress-led coalition, “but then how many decisions has the BJP taken in consultations with its old allies under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)?” asked the editorial.