The results of the Gujarat elections are a “massive jolt” to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday, The Times of India reported.
On Monday, the BJP won power in Gujarat for the sixth time in a row, but only by a narrow margin. The Congress made significant strides by winning 77 seats and succeeded in taking over a large part of the rural Patidar-dominated belt of Gujarat’s Saurashtra region.
“Three to four months back, when we went to Gujarat, it was said that Congress cannot fight BJP,” Gandhi said, adding that the party had worked hard. “You have seen the results. The BJP has suffered a massive jolt.”
The Congress president added that the results showed him that the people of Gujarat did not approve of Modi’s model of development. “Their marketing and propaganda is very good, but it is hollow from the inside,” he said. “They could not answer our campaign.”
Gandhi said the results cast questions on the prime minister and the BJP’s credibility, The Times of India reported. “The people of Gujarat gave me a lot of love, and the biggest lesson they taught me is that irrespective of your opponent’s anger or wealth, you can put up a good fight with love,” he said.
After the BJP won in both Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat on Monday, Gandhi had tweeted, “The Congress accepts the verdict of the people.”
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