https://sputniknews.in/20230820/will-rahul-gandhi-be-able-to-strengthen-opposition-experts-divided-3647208.html
Will Rahul Gandhi Be Able to Strengthen Opposition? Experts Divided
Will Rahul Gandhi Be Able to Strengthen Opposition? Experts Divided
Sputnik India
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s membership as Parliamentarian was reinstated by the Lok Sabha secretariat following the Supreme Court of India’s stay on his conviction in a case related to ‘Modi surname’ remark.
2023-08-20T12:00+0530
2023-08-20T12:00+0530
2023-08-20T12:00+0530
sputnik opinion
india
delhi
new delhi
gujarat
meghalaya
bharat jodo yatra
indian national congress (inc)
bharatiya janata party (bjp)
narendra modi
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.in/img/07e7/08/0d/3578192_0:91:1731:1065_1920x0_80_0_0_39aab8bb00014c08ec3ae3fb5539f192.jpg
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s membership as a parliamentarian was reinstated by the Lok Sabha secretariat following the Supreme Court of India’s stay on his conviction in a case related to his "Modi surname" remark.The decision of the apex court came while the Monsoon Session of the Indian parliament was ongoing.While talking to Sputnik India, political experts spelled out the benefits for Congress after Gandhi’s reinstatement as parliamentarian. They also shared their thoughts about how Gandhi will strengthen the opposition bloc and Congress for the upcoming elections and 2024 general elections and what foreign policy the newly-formed opposition bloc will adopt.Sharing his views on how Congress will use Gandhi’s reinstatement as MP, political expert Vinod Kumar Shukla told Sputnik India: “Congress would like to use this its benefit however I doubt that whether the party will be able to reach out to the people over the issue or not”.Meanwhile, another political expert, Prem Kumar, termed it as a morale booster for Congress. “There were many doubts within the party over the membership of Rahul Gandhi and his future prospects of contesting the polls. However, Congress party will use it for electoral battle but I think this could be fully utilised if the Supreme Court gives him complete relief in the case”, he stated.Despite being disqualified as a parliamentarian, Rahul Gandhi was continuously meeting with the general public. He went to meet a paddy farmer, a motorbike mechanic, truck driver, and others.On this, Shukla said it is not the first time that such things were done by any politician and also doubted that will such things bring vote for Congress.On the other hand, Kumar opined that this process was started much before the disqualification as Gandhi was meeting common man during his “Bharat Jodo Yatra” (Unite India Campaign).He, however, sees this as an extension of the “Bharat Jodo Yatra” as he said: “Gandhi will continue to meet people during his second leg of campaign beginning from Gujarat and ending in Meghalaya.”Kumar further stated that he regards Gandhi as a mentor for Congress who doesn’t want to present himself as an aspirant for the prime ministerial post or as someone who wants to lead the opposition bloc, but rather he is focused on bringing Congress back on track through a thought process and to resurrect Gandhian or Nehruvian ideology in front of the BJP or RSS.When asked about strengthening the Congress and the newly-formed INDIA bloc, both experts viewed it as a challenge for Gandhi.Talking about the contradictions, Shukla said: “Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s purpose is solved now as the law which he wanted to stall with the help of other opposition parties over control on transfers and postings of bureaucrats in Delhi has been passed so now he doesn’t needs anyone. Similarly, Bihar State Chief Nitish Kumar is not happy because he has been formally not been named as the convenor of the alliance”.He even said that the parties which have joined the bloc are not complementing each other.Citing the reason behind formation of the alliance, Kumar said that the BJP is responsible behind the formation of this alliance. “There was no such alliance in the previous polls, but due to the politics of BJP the regional parties which earlier thought that Congress is dangerous for them have now understood that BJP is the real danger because if it is not defeated their existence will finish.”On the foreign policy which could be adopted by the newly-formed INDIA bloc, both experts said that there would hardly be any change.When asked whether the 2024 general elections will be Modi vs Gandhi, Shukla said that if that happens, it would be big moral victory for Gandhi, as it would mean people have accepted Gandhi as a politician who could challenge Modi. However, he expressed doubts that this will happen.Kumar, on the other hand, said that it is already clear the 2024 general elections will be Modi vs Gandhi and stated that the BJP is afraid of Gandhi.
https://sputniknews.in/20230804/-indias-supreme-court-restores-rahul-gandhis-mp-status-3392647.html
india
delhi
new delhi
gujarat
meghalaya
Sputnik India
feedback.hindi@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rosiya Segodnya“
2023
Rahul Trivedi
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.in/img/07e6/0c/13/136500_0:0:628:627_100x100_80_0_0_72097ff894c7446b70d2efafcb719720.jpg
Rahul Trivedi
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.in/img/07e6/0c/13/136500_0:0:628:627_100x100_80_0_0_72097ff894c7446b70d2efafcb719720.jpg
News
en_IN
Sputnik India
feedback.hindi@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rosiya Segodnya“
Sputnik India
feedback.hindi@sputniknews.com
+74956456601
MIA „Rosiya Segodnya“
Rahul Trivedi
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.in/img/07e6/0c/13/136500_0:0:628:627_100x100_80_0_0_72097ff894c7446b70d2efafcb719720.jpg
rahul gandhi’s membership as parliamentarian reinstated, lok sabha secretariat, modi surname case, monsoon session, indian national developmental inclusive alliance, rahul gandhi's bharat jodo yatra, second leg of bharat jodo yatra, manipur violence, supreme court of india stays conviction of rahul gandhi, 2024 general elections, modi vs gandhi
rahul gandhi’s membership as parliamentarian reinstated, lok sabha secretariat, modi surname case, monsoon session, indian national developmental inclusive alliance, rahul gandhi's bharat jodo yatra, second leg of bharat jodo yatra, manipur violence, supreme court of india stays conviction of rahul gandhi, 2024 general elections, modi vs gandhi
Will Rahul Gandhi Be Able to Strengthen Opposition? Experts Divided
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was formed on 18 July, when at least 26 political parties met for the second time in Bengaluru to formulate a strategy to take on the BJP in the upcoming state assembly polls and 2024 parliamentary elections.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s membership as a parliamentarian was reinstated by the Lok Sabha secretariat following the Supreme Court of India’s stay on his conviction in a case related to his "Modi surname" remark.
The decision of the apex court came while the Monsoon Session of the Indian parliament was ongoing.
While talking to Sputnik India, political experts spelled out the benefits for Congress after Gandhi’s reinstatement as parliamentarian. They also shared their thoughts about how Gandhi will strengthen the opposition bloc and Congress for the upcoming elections and
2024 general elections and what foreign policy the
newly-formed opposition bloc will adopt.
Sharing his views on how Congress will use Gandhi’s reinstatement as MP, political expert Vinod Kumar Shukla told Sputnik India: “Congress would like to use this its benefit however I doubt that whether the party will be able to reach out to the people over the issue or not”.
“I am saying this because when Gandhi will tell the people that his membership has been reinstated by the Supreme Court, BJP will also tell that despite staying the conviction the top court said that the utterances were not in good taste”, he added.
Meanwhile, another political expert, Prem Kumar, termed it as a morale booster for Congress. “There were many doubts within the party over the membership of Rahul Gandhi and his future prospects of contesting the polls. However, Congress party will use it for electoral battle but I think this could be fully utilised if the Supreme Court gives him complete relief in the case”, he stated.
Despite being
disqualified as a parliamentarian, Rahul Gandhi was continuously meeting with the general public. He went to meet a paddy farmer, a motorbike mechanic, truck driver, and others.
On this, Shukla said it is not the first time that such things were done by any politician and also doubted that will such things bring vote for Congress.
“Every politician tries to use such gimmicks in order to seek support for himself or his party as he sees a potential voter in the common man but these gimmicks don’t get votes. I am saying this because if you take example that he visited a motorbike repair shop and met the mechanic over there. So do you think that motorbike mechanics across the country will vote for Congress just because Rahul Gandhi met one of them in the national capital?” he questioned.
On the other hand, Kumar opined that this process was started much before the disqualification as Gandhi was meeting common man during his “Bharat Jodo Yatra” (Unite India Campaign).
He, however, sees this as an extension of the “Bharat Jodo Yatra” as he said: “Gandhi will continue to meet people during his second leg of campaign beginning from Gujarat and ending in Meghalaya.”
Kumar further stated that he regards Gandhi as a mentor for Congress who doesn’t want to present himself as an aspirant for the prime ministerial post or as someone who wants to lead the opposition bloc, but rather he is focused on bringing Congress back on track through a thought process and to resurrect Gandhian or Nehruvian ideology in front of the BJP or RSS.
When asked about strengthening the Congress and the newly-formed INDIA bloc, both experts viewed it as a challenge for Gandhi.
“First one has to understand that the entire opposition wants to get rid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that is their democratic right. However, I see inherent contradiction in the newly-formed opposition bloc,” Shukla opined.
Talking about the contradictions, Shukla said: “Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s purpose is solved now as the law which he wanted to stall with the help of other opposition parties over control on transfers and postings of bureaucrats in Delhi has been passed so now he doesn’t needs anyone. Similarly, Bihar State Chief Nitish Kumar is not happy because he has been formally not been named as the convenor of the alliance”.
He even said that the parties which have joined the bloc are not complementing each other.
Citing the reason behind formation of the alliance, Kumar said that the BJP is responsible behind the formation of this alliance. “There was no such alliance in the previous polls, but due to the politics of BJP the regional parties which earlier thought that Congress is dangerous for them have now understood that BJP is the real danger because if it is not defeated their existence will finish.”
“Therefore, at the national they had no other option than the Congress. So, if Rahul Gandhi is able to give them the confidence that all political parties can co-exist in the federal structure of the company then he can surely strengthen the entire opposition bloc. However, it is a challenge for him but if he is able to bring together the regional parties in his second leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra then there is a possibility”, he stated.
On the foreign policy which could be adopted by the newly-formed INDIA bloc, both experts said that there would hardly be any change.
When asked whether the 2024 general elections will be Modi vs Gandhi, Shukla said that if that happens, it would be big moral victory for Gandhi, as it would mean people have accepted Gandhi as a politician who could challenge Modi. However, he expressed doubts that this will happen.
Kumar, on the other hand, said that it is already clear the 2024 general elections will be Modi vs Gandhi and stated that the BJP is afraid of Gandhi.
