New Delhi:
The Delhi assembly election results have proved yet again that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is incapable of defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President KT Rama Rao said on Saturday.
Taking a swipe at Mr Gandhi, whose party once again failed to open an account in the Capital, Mr Rao said the former can only weaken regional parties and “indirectly” help the BJP.
The BRS leader’s comments came as the Congress recorded a third straight whitewash in the crucial Delhi assembly elections, drawing a blank once again after 2015 and 2020. The BJP is set to stage a comeback after more than 26 years, sweeping away the Aam Aadmi Party that ruled the national capital since 2013.
In a post on X, Mr Rao said: “Congrats to Rahul Gandhi for winning the election for BJP, yet again! Well done.”
Speaking to news agency ANI, he said: “The Delhi elections have proved yet again that Rahul Gandhi is incapable of defeating the BJP. He cannot win by himself and also ends up weakening the regional parties and indirectly helping the BJP.”
Mr Rao once again congratulated Mr Gandhi for “ensuring another victory for the BJP”. “I am sure he is very proud of this achievement,” he said.
The Congress, however, defended its performance, and said the election results are not a vindication of Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s policies but a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and his party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The Congress also asserted that it would form a government in the national capital in 2030.
Both the AAP and the Congress, who are allies in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), were engaged in a tussle over several issues ahead of the polls, and had decided to contest separately.
In a post on X, Congress General Secretary In-Charge Communications Jairam Ramesh said: “After all, at the height of the prime minister’s popularity in 2015 and 2020, AAP had won decisively in Delhi. This shows that, rather than being vindication of the policies of the prime minister, this vote is a rejection of Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of deceit, deception, and vastly exaggerated claims of achievement.”
He added: “The Congress was expecting to do better. It has, however, increased its vote share. The campaign of the Congress was vigorous. It may not be in the assembly but it is definitely a presence in Delhi, a presence that will be expanded electorally with the sustained efforts of lakhs of Congress workers.”