New Delhi: Crediting Rahul Gandhi for the revival of the Congress, party MP Gaurav Gogoi said he not only provided "moral and philosophical" leadership to the party but also set the narrative for the Lok Sabha elections, which was reflected in the results.
Speaking to editors, Gogoi recalled former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's "we will win" message at the party's Udaipur 'Chintan Shivir' in May, 2022, and said the party has come a long way on the path of revival. Resolved to move forward on that path.
“You must remember the journey of the Congress since 2021 when we performed very poorly – we performed poorly in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in the 2021 Assembly elections we lost in Assam and Kerala. The BJP was on the rise.We organized a 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur because we were 'concerned','' he said. Gogoi, who won the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat in Assam by a margin of 1.44 lakh votes, said that then President Sonia Gandhi was congratulated at the end of the 'Shivir'. He had to say 'we will win' three times in the speech, which reflected the mentality of the party at that time.
"If you look from that time and look at our situation now, we have come a long way and we have to go even further," he said.
He said that after the 'Chintan Shivir', one has to see that the revival of Congress is being closely linked with Rahul Gandhi. "Congress asked him (Gandhi) to do a yatra (Bharat Jodo Yatra).He walked about 4,000 kilometers from Kanyakumari to Kashmir from September 2022 to January 2023, the results of which we saw in the Karnataka elections. It was then that Gogoi said, "After losing Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and in the atmosphere created before the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony, a request was made to conduct another visit."
"What were the issues in these elections - democracy, Constitution, caste census, Agneepath. Who brought these issues into our narrative? Rahul ji had a key role in bringing these issues to the forefront. So, he gave us a moral and philosophical leadership, " They said.Gandhi also gave organizational leadership to the Congress and the result was seen in the people's mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, he said. "We won both the seats in Manipur, we won one seat in Meghalaya, we won in Nagaland for the first time since the 1990s. In Jorhat, Assam, we won by a record margin last time in 2009, which was a stronghold of a regional party (AIUDF). This revival has started from Udaipur in 2022 and it is only going to move forward and we have a lot more to do,” Gogoi said.
He regretted that the person who has been maligned the most on media platforms is Rahul Gandhi."Even now he remains the target of that slander... political pundits do not have the courage to admit that they were wrong about Rahul Gandhi," he said. "Rahul Gandhi need not care. He They are giving what the people of India want which is the message of peace and harmony. The message of Bharat Jodo Yatra was 'Open the shop of love in the market of hatred'... You give me a campaign in the world in recent times. Examples where love has been a political symbol," Gogoi said.
Asked whether Rahul Gandhi is the brains and power of the Congress campaign, Gogoi said the Congress also has "unprecedented bench strength"."I was part of the election of (Congress chief Mallikarjun) Kharge ji (party president). When people asked me why are you supporting Kharge ji when we have a contestant whom the old media likes, I said, 'What is the role expected of the Congress party president: to revitalize the organization and work with allies and talk about the values of Congress for the weaker sections of the society,'' he said, praising the role played by Kharge. He said that the influence of the Congress President cannot be reduced after he assumes office in October 2022.
The deputy leader of the Congress in the outgoing Lok Sabha also praised Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's role in the election to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attacks on the Congress.
He said, "When you had the Prime Minister's Mangalsutra comment and 'Tu Tu Main Main', his response was full of enthusiasm, decency, dignity and that was the right response.We had the best campaign." In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJP with 240 seats fell short of a majority, but the NDA won the mandate with 293 seats. The Congress got 99 seats while the India Bloc got 234 seats. After the elections, the two winning independent MLAs have also pledged support to the Congress, taking the India Bloc's tally to 236.
Speaking to editors, Gogoi recalled former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's "we will win" message at the party's Udaipur 'Chintan Shivir' in May, 2022, and said the party has come a long way on the path of revival. Resolved to move forward on that path.
“You must remember the journey of the Congress since 2021 when we performed very poorly – we performed poorly in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in the 2021 Assembly elections we lost in Assam and Kerala. The BJP was on the rise.We organized a 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur because we were 'concerned','' he said. Gogoi, who won the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat in Assam by a margin of 1.44 lakh votes, said that then President Sonia Gandhi was congratulated at the end of the 'Shivir'. He had to say 'we will win' three times in the speech, which reflected the mentality of the party at that time.
"If you look from that time and look at our situation now, we have come a long way and we have to go even further," he said.
He said that after the 'Chintan Shivir', one has to see that the revival of Congress is being closely linked with Rahul Gandhi. "Congress asked him (Gandhi) to do a yatra (Bharat Jodo Yatra).He walked about 4,000 kilometers from Kanyakumari to Kashmir from September 2022 to January 2023, the results of which we saw in the Karnataka elections. It was then that Gogoi said, "After losing Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and in the atmosphere created before the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony, a request was made to conduct another visit."
"What were the issues in these elections - democracy, Constitution, caste census, Agneepath. Who brought these issues into our narrative? Rahul ji had a key role in bringing these issues to the forefront. So, he gave us a moral and philosophical leadership, " They said.Gandhi also gave organizational leadership to the Congress and the result was seen in the people's mandate in the Lok Sabha elections, he said. "We won both the seats in Manipur, we won one seat in Meghalaya, we won in Nagaland for the first time since the 1990s. In Jorhat, Assam, we won by a record margin last time in 2009, which was a stronghold of a regional party (AIUDF). This revival has started from Udaipur in 2022 and it is only going to move forward and we have a lot more to do,” Gogoi said.
He regretted that the person who has been maligned the most on media platforms is Rahul Gandhi."Even now he remains the target of that slander... political pundits do not have the courage to admit that they were wrong about Rahul Gandhi," he said. "Rahul Gandhi need not care. He They are giving what the people of India want which is the message of peace and harmony. The message of Bharat Jodo Yatra was 'Open the shop of love in the market of hatred'... You give me a campaign in the world in recent times. Examples where love has been a political symbol," Gogoi said.
Asked whether Rahul Gandhi is the brains and power of the Congress campaign, Gogoi said the Congress also has "unprecedented bench strength"."I was part of the election of (Congress chief Mallikarjun) Kharge ji (party president). When people asked me why are you supporting Kharge ji when we have a contestant whom the old media likes, I said, 'What is the role expected of the Congress party president: to revitalize the organization and work with allies and talk about the values of Congress for the weaker sections of the society,'' he said, praising the role played by Kharge. He said that the influence of the Congress President cannot be reduced after he assumes office in October 2022.
The deputy leader of the Congress in the outgoing Lok Sabha also praised Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's role in the election to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attacks on the Congress.
He said, "When you had the Prime Minister's Mangalsutra comment and 'Tu Tu Main Main', his response was full of enthusiasm, decency, dignity and that was the right response.We had the best campaign." In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJP with 240 seats fell short of a majority, but the NDA won the mandate with 293 seats. The Congress got 99 seats while the India Bloc got 234 seats. After the elections, the two winning independent MLAs have also pledged support to the Congress, taking the India Bloc's tally to 236.
