Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the party’s electoral defeats, questioning his allegations against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Shah said the exercise began only after 2024 and argued that the Congress had been losing elections long before that.
Shah also predicted another defeat for the Congress in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would return with a massive majority.
“The SIR only came into effect after 2024. Ever since you emerged as the principal leader of the Congress—and subsequently as its President and the Leader of the Opposition—the party has consistently lost elections,” Shah said.
He asked Gandhi whether the Congress’s repeated defeats in states such as Gujarat, Tripura and West Bengal could be blamed on SIR.
‘Congress Cannot Blame Ballot Machines’
Responding to arguments that electronic voting machines helped the BJP win elections, Shah pointed out that some recent elections were conducted using ballot papers.
“To those who cite ballot machines as the reason for the results, I would like to point out that these elections were conducted using ballot papers; this fact completely refutes the argument that ballot machines are what help the BJP win elections,” he said.
Shah claimed that the Congress had failed to win a single election in Gujarat for 41 years. He also said no Congress chief minister had won in Tripura for 33 years, while the party had not secured a victory in West Bengal for 54 years.
He argued that the Congress had faced defeats in these states for three, four or even five decades and said the party needed to examine the reasons behind its electoral performance.
Shah Predicts Fourth Consecutive Defeat In 2029
The Home Minister accused Gandhi of trying to shield infiltrators under the pretext of opposing SIR and said voters would not accept the Congress’s arguments.
“I also wish to tell Rahul Gandhi and his associates to brace themselves for a crushing defeat in 2029. The NDA is set to secure a massive majority in the 2029 general elections, and the Congress is headed for yet another defeat—its fourth consecutive loss,” Shah said.
He claimed that people across the country stood with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP and the NDA. Shah also thanked voters in Tripura, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal and Assam, saying they had backed the BJP and its Lotus symbol despite what he described as malicious propaganda.
Shah Cites Rajasthan, Tripura And Bypoll Results
Shah referred to the BJP’s performance in Rajasthan’s local body elections, claiming that the party won 90% of municipal corporations, 66% of municipal councils and 65% of municipalities. He added that the Aam Aadmi Party forfeited its security deposit in more than 85% of wards.
In Tripura’s village committee elections, Shah said the NDA won approximately 4,000 seats, including 3,248 seats and another 900 seats, with a total vote share of 77.5%. He claimed that the Congress won only 14 of the 4,600 seats.
Referring to bypolls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Shah said the Congress failed to win a single seat. He cited BJP victories in Naogaon, Nandigram and Rejinagar, and said the NDA’s AINRC ally won in Puducherry by 8,482 votes, while the Congress secured 22% of the vote.
‘Negative Politics Will Not Benefit Congress’
Shah accused Gandhi of relying on what he called fabricated media events and “Jhooth Ki Goonj” to gain public support.
“You cannot become the voice of the nation merely by mobilising the cadres of fourteen parties to gather a crowd of eight thousand within a span of one and a half kilometres,” he said.
He argued that the Congress needed to connect with people in villages, farms, remote hills, forests and along riverbanks. Shah also cited Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu as states where he said voters had rejected the Congress for decades, adding that its negative politics would not benefit the party.
The Home Minister urged Gandhi to introspect over the Congress’s electoral record rather than blame SIR for its defeats.
