Rahul Gandhi, who returned to Delhi on Tuesday after wrapping up an intense campaign for the Gujarat assembly elections, is confident that his party is set to reverse the trend of the state choosing BJP for the last 22 years.
"The BJP is afraid in this election," he said in the interview, his first after being elected unopposed as Congress chief. He said all the issues that he has brought up in his aggressive campaign to attack the BJP with are issues of the people. "I only say what Gujarat is saying, what the people have told me their problems are. The BJP is afraid of what the people are saying, not of what Rahul Gandhi is saying," he said.
In his election speeches in Gujarat, Mr Gandhi has attempted to consolidate the support of groups who are seen to be upset with the BJP, urging farmers and traders to punish the ruling party over PM Modi's economic policies like the notes ban and new national tax GST, that he alleges have brought them to their knees. He has also strategically partnered with young caste leaders like Hardik Patel, the face of the Patel or Patidar agitation for reservation, Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani and backward caste leader Alpesh Thakore, hoping to win votes from the key communities they lead.
