NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, regarded as one of the BJP’s key electoral strategists, on Friday described the by-election results in West Bengal, Assam and other states as a rejection by voters of the Congress-led INDIA bloc.
Soon after the results favoured the BJP, Shah took to X and said, “The BJP, under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, continues to win elections one after another despite the lies and disinformation campaigns run by Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc.”
He further said, “The NDA’s victories in the by-elections in West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry, and in the recently held local body polls in Rajasthan and Tripura, demonstrate that the people have completely rejected the INDIA bloc.”
Launching a fresh attack on the Congress amid the ongoing controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Shah said, “Having lost their public support, these parties question institutions after every defeat, but the people have recognised their true character. This is why the people have once again delivered a thumping mandate, reaffirming their unwavering faith in the BJP.”
Shah also accused the Congress of attempting to discredit the electoral process after suffering electoral defeats across the country for years.
“For many years, the Congress party has not been winning elections in many places. And now they have just realised that winning an election is impossible. So, they defile and defame the election process itself,” Shah alleged.
Taking aim at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Shah said, “That is why the prominent Congress leader, the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, is trying to throw mud to hide his defeat by sometimes raising the issues of EVMs, sometimes vote theft, sometimes voter lists and sometimes the SIR.”
Citing the Congress’s prolonged absence from power in several states, Shah questioned whether all its electoral losses could be attributed to alleged vote theft.
He further said, “In Tamil Nadu, your party has not had a chief minister since 1967. Was that all vote theft? In West Bengal, your party has not had a chief minister for 49 years. Was that all vote theft? In Sikkim, your party has not had a chief minister for 42 years. In Bihar, for 36 years; in Gujarat, for 30 years; in Odisha, for several years; in Nagaland, for 23 years; and in Maharashtra, for 12 years, your party has not had a chief minister.”
“If all this is vote theft, then those who committed it are sitting alongside you as brothers today. They have all become members of the INDIA bloc,” he asserted.
Shah also urged the Congress to introspect on the reasons behind its repeated electoral defeats, arguing that the party’s leadership was a key factor.
“I believe that the Congress party needs to introspect on its defeats. Since Rahul Gandhi became the leader, the people of the country have been delivering mandates against him everywhere, step by step,” he said.
Taking another swipe at the Congress leadership, Shah added that the INDIA bloc was once again beginning to fall apart under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
