Exuding confidence about a good showing in the upcoming assembly polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that as of now the Congress is certainly winning Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, probably winning Telangana, and there is a “very close” contest in Rajasthan which the party believes it will emerge victorious in. Gandhi also referred to the row over BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s derogatory remarks against BSP leader Danish Ali in Lok Sabha, alleging that the BJP indulges in such tactics to distract from the demand for a caste census.He asserted that the opposition is adapting and working together and the BJP is “in for a surprise in 2024” general elections. Speaking at a conclave organised by the Pratidin Media Network of Assam, Gandhi also said the idea of ‘One Nation, One Election’ was aimed at distracting from real issues of the people. “It’s one of the BJP’s distraction strategies,” he asserted.
The main issues in India are concentration of wealth, huge inequality in wealth, massive unemployment, huge unfairness towards the lower caste, OBCs, and tribal communities, and price rise, he said. “Now, the BJP can’t contest those. So ‘let’s have Mr. Bidhuri make a statement. Let’s get together and sort of have elections together. Let’s change the name of India’. This is all distraction. We know it, we understand it. And we’re not going to let them do it,” he said.