Had Priyanka contested from Varanasi, PM Modi would have lost: Rahul in Rae Bareli

Addressing a crowd of over 3,000 people from the two constituencies at Bhuvemau Guesthouse in Rae Bareli, Rahul highlighted INDIA bloc’s win in Uttar Pradesh and said the people of the state voted against the politics of hatred, violence, and arrogance.

While the Congress won 6 seats, its INDIA bloc partner Samajwadi Party (SP) won 37 of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, thereby playing a crucial role in limiting the BJP below the half-way majority mark.

Pointing to the BJP’s defeat in Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency, where Ayodhya is located, Rahul said: “Aapne dekha, Ayodhya ki seat haar gaye… Ram Mandir banaya (You saw, they lost Ayodhya seat… Had constructed Ram Temple).” “During the inauguration of the Ram Temple, neither any poor, Dalits, OBCs or labourers were invited. And even “adivasi” President (Droupadi Murmu) was told that she cannot come, but (industrialists) Adani, Ambani, entire Bollywood and cricket team were present there,” Rahul added.

“Jawab Ayodhya ki janta ne bhi diya… Sirf Ayodhya mein nahi, bhaiyon behno… Varanasi mein bhi jaan bacha ke wey nikle (The people of Ayodhya gave them the answer… Not just Ayodhya, they somehow managed to save themselves in Varanasi),” Rahul said.

Referring to his sister Priyanka, who led the party’s campaign in Amethi and Rae Bareli and also in other parts of the country, Rahul said, “I tell you and I tell my sister as well that if she had contested from Varanasi, then the country’s Prime Minister (Modi) would have lost the election from Varanasi by two to three lakh votes.”

Rahul said that he was not saying this out of arrogance but because the people of the country have sent the message to Prime Minister Modi that they do not like his politics… “UP ki janta ne nafarat ke khilaf, hinsa ke khilaf, ahankar ke khilaf dabakar vote kiya (The people of UP voted strongly against hatred, violence and arrogance),” he said.

“The people want Mohabbat Ki Dukan,” the Congress MP added, referring to the tagline of his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The former Congress president also thanked alliance partner Samajwadi Party and its workers for their successful joint campaign in the Lok Sabha elections and said they stood shoulder to shoulder with Congress workers on the ground.

Asking workers of both the parties not to be arrogant, Rahul said: “You should understand your strength. You have changed the politics of the country… Now, a huge responsibility has fallen on us. First of all, leaders, workers, MLAs and MPs of the Congress should not fall prey to arrogance. Secondly, you should think that we have a family relationship.”

Pointing to the images of Prime Minister Modi bowing before the Constitution after the election results, Rahul said: “The people of Uttar Pradesh have also sent a message to the PM about the consequences of tinkering with the Constitution.”

“UP ne message diya hai ki INDIA gathbandhan ko UP mein chahte hain, desh mein chahte hain (The people of UP have sent out a message that people of the country like the INDIA bloc,” he said, adding people came together against the BJP in every state.

“There are two to three reasons for this. The first is that the soul of the country has understood that Narendra Modiji and Amit Shahji are trying to destroy the Constitution of India. They are playing with the foundation of India. The second thing is that in 2014, there was a change in the politics of India. For the first time, we saw that the prime minister was openly indulging in the politics of violence and hatred, and this is against the culture and religions of India,” Rahul, who has also won from Wayanad in Kerala, said.

In her brief address, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi lauded the unity among her party and SP workers, and said: “This was a historic win. We feel proud to say that this message went from Awadh to the entire Uttar Pradesh and to the entire country that we need dedicated, true and clean politics in our country. The entire country is looking towards you.”

The Congress will also kick off its ‘Dhanyawad Yatra’ across Uttar Pradesh from Wednesday, during which local leaders, MPs and candidates will reach out to the public to thank them. This yatra would continue till June 15, party leaders said.