Agencies | New Delhi:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the party’s recent electoral defeats, urging it to introspect rather than blame the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls for its poor performance.
Targeting Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Shah said the Congress had repeatedly lost elections in Gujarat over the past four decades and claimed that the results reflected continued public support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
“I want to make this point clear—and specifically convey it to Rahul ji—that the Congress party has not won a single election in 41 years. The last election they won was back in 1985; since then, they have faced continuous defeats in Gujarat,” Shah said.
His remarks came as Rahul Gandhi joined the INDIA bloc’s protest against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over issues related to electoral rolls and the SIR exercise.
Questioning the Congress’s criticism of SIR, Shah said the party had suffered electoral setbacks even before the revision exercise began after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Rahul Gandhi should introspect whether it is because of SIR that he is losing elections in Gujarat. Congress needs to introspect rather than blaming SIR,” he said.
Shah also predicted another electoral setback for the Congress in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, accusing Gandhi of spreading what he described as falsehoods and opposing SIR under the pretext of protecting infiltrators.
“Rahul Gandhi is constantly echoing lies,” Shah said, while alleging that the Congress was unable to accept the popularity of the Prime Minister.
Highlighting the BJP’s performance in Gujarat’s local body elections, Shah said the party had secured a decisive victory in elections covering three urban local bodies.
According to Shah, the BJP won 90 of the 104 seats across the two municipalities and one municipal corporation. In the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, which falls within his constituency, the party secured 38 of the 44 seats.
He also claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party, despite contesting all 32 seats, forfeited its security deposit in every constituency.
Shah said the results demonstrated the strength of the BJP’s support in Gujarat and pointed to a 10-percentage-point increase in the party’s vote share in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation compared with the previous election.
“This massive victory in Gujarat reflects the mood of the state’s voters, demonstrating that the electorate of Gujarat stands rock-solid behind Narendra Modi ji,” he said.
The Home Minister also referred to the Congress’s defeats in by-elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, arguing that the party should examine the reasons behind its electoral performance.
He said the Congress had continued to lose elections since Gandhi became the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, while the SIR exercise began only after the 2024 general elections.
Shah further argued that the party had suffered defeats even when ballot papers were used, questioning its attempts to link electoral losses to the revision of voter lists.
Accusing the Congress of pursuing negative politics, he described the party as “anti-democracy” and “anti-Constitution” and said its recent defeats should prompt serious introspection.
Shah also cited the BJP’s performance in Rajasthan’s local body elections, claiming that the party had secured a decisive majority there.
Reiterating his criticism of Gandhi, Shah said the Congress should focus on assessing its electoral record rather than attributing its setbacks to SIR, while asserting that voters continued to back Modi and the BJP.
