'People are not going to vote Congress again...' Kiren Rijiju pokes Jairam Ramesh over party's revival
Cracks within the Opposition's INDIA bloc were exposed on Sunday as coalition partners pointed fingers at the Congress party for its 3-0 defeat against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Hindi heartland states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
FollowUnion Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday lashed out at the Congress leader Jairam Ramesh over the latter's assertion that the Grand Old Party will bounce back in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. After his party's poor performance in the assembly elections in the Hindi heartland, Ramesh posted on X: 'Exactly 20 years ago, the Indian National Congress had lost the state elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, while winning only Delhi. But within a few months, the party bounced back and went on to emerge as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha polls and formed the government at the Centre. It is with hope, confidence and a firm sense of resolve and resilience that the Indian National Congress prepares for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls."
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Reacting to Ramesh's assertion, the Union Minister said, "Someone should also remind Jairam ji that Congress lost MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi in 2013 & reached its lowest ever tally of 44 in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections! People aren’t going to vote Congress again. As Rahul Gandhi Ji once said: Khatam, Tata, Bye Bye to Congress."
Cracks within the Opposition's INDIA bloc were exposed on Sunday as coalition partners pointed fingers at the Congress party for its 3-0 defeat against the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Hindi heartland states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Accusations were hurled by Congress allies, including the Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal(United), and Trinamool Congress, who criticized the Mallikarjun Kharge-led party for neglecting its INDIA partners.
JDU, led by Nitish Kumar, mocked the Congress, asserting that it was evident the party couldn't secure victory independently. KC Tyagi, a JDU leader, emphasized that the INDIA bloc was absent in the elections due to the Congress's failure to engage its allies in consultations. He stressed the need to strengthen the INDIA bloc, suggesting that an alliance meeting earlier would have been beneficial.
RJD national spokesperson Manoj Jha highlighted the Congress's post-defeat realization of the importance of "collectivism" against the BJP's "self-centered" politics. While acknowledging the Congress's significant presence in the INDIA coalition, Jha urged the party to recognize that combating Narendra Modi's arrogance requires a different approach.
Omar Abdullah of the National Conference expressed concerns about the INDIA alliance's ability to win the 2024 general elections if the current situation persists. He criticized the delayed INDIA alliance meeting and questioned the Congress's decision not to allocate seats to the Samajwadi Party in the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.
The Trinamool Congress held the Congress responsible for the defeat, while the CPIM supported Rahul Gandhi. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh characterized the outcome in the three states as more of a Congress failure than a BJP success story. Ghosh asserted that the TMC could provide leadership in the battle against the BJP nationwide.
