Indians punished Modi with their votes, says Rahul Gandi as BJP falls short of majority

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, mocked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his supporters for a decade as an entitled dynast, who marked a stunning comeback in the 2024 Lok Sabha Electionson Tuesday said that the Indian punished the BJP leader with their votes. 

Modi's alliance NDA scrambled for majority in the recently concluded polls as the vote-counting neared completion, with the tally well short of a widely expected landslide, while Congress emerged at the centre of an alliance that made deep inroads into ruling party strongholds.

"The country has unanimously and clearly stated, we do not want Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to be involved in the running of this country, we do not like the way they have run this country," Gandhi told reporters, referring to Modi's powerful number two, Home Minister Shah. "That is a huge message."

Gandhi said Congress would hold talks with its allies on Wednesday and decide on the future course of action, when asked if the opposition would try to form a government.

The poll result disappointed the BJP, which seems to fall below the majority mark of 272 even though the ruling alliance is all set to form the government, Times of India reported

Meanwhile, Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) led alliance, INDIA has secured leads in approximately 230 seats. This coalition has achieved substantial gains in various states, posing a formidable challenge to the BJP's dominance.

Referring to Modi’s failure to achieve a landslide victory, Gandhi — who won both Uttar Pradesh and Kerala seats in a stunning comeback — said that the people had collectively punished the right-wing nationalist politician.

It may be noted that both the arch-rivals have been re-elected as members of Parliament, as confirmed by India’s election commission.

"I was confident that the people of this country would give the right response,” the 53-year-old scion of the Gandhi family was addressing a press briefing after election commission figures showed the government projected to return with a reduced majority.

He said that they had fought this election against the entire state machinery. It was not just a fight against a political force but a fight to protect the country’s Constitution, the judiciary, and the ED as these institutions “have been captured by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.”

Raising a copy of the Constitution in his hand, Gandhi said, “The fight was to save the Constitution… we were sure that the citizens of India would make attempts to guard it and I would like to thank everyone.”

Gandhi lashed out at the ruling party for breaking political parties, putting chief ministers in jails and playing every possible tactic against the Congress.

He said that the election results were a clear message from the people to Modi, “we do not want you”.

Gandhi said that the most underprivileged citizens of the country had made the majority of efforts to save the constitution.

INDIA has made a remarkable comeback taking the lead over the BJP-led NDA in Uttar Pradesh.

After the seven phases of polling for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 ended on June 1, exit polls had painted a positive picture for the BJP-led NDA government, predicting a remarkable third term for PM Modi. 

— With additional input from Reuters and AFP