Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has described the outcome of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a “tectonic shift” in Indian politics, claiming that the Modi government will struggle to survive after failing to secure a majority.
In an interview with the UK's Financial Times, Gandhi said, “The space in the Indian political system has been blown open. A tectonic shift has taken place in Indian politics. The numbers are such that they are very fragile, and the smallest disturbance can drop the government.”
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the opposition INDIA bloc beat expectations by winning 234 of 543 seats, powered by strong showing in the bellwether state of Uttar Pradesh. Congress also delivered its best performance in 15 years by bagging 99 seats. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 293 seats and secured a third term, but the saffron party, with 240 seats, failed to get the magic number.
Gandhi claimed there was “great discontent” within Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s camp and hinted at possible defections. “There are people who are in touch with us from within it,” he stated, without going into specifics. “Basically, one ally has to turn the other way,” he added.
The Gandhi scion characterised the 2024 election results as a mandate against the BJP's divisive politics. "The idea that you can spread hatred, you can spread anger and you can reap benefits of that — the Indian people have rejected it in this election," he said.
During the campaign, PM Modi referred to the Muslim community as "infiltrators" and alleged that a Congress-led government would give away employment and quotas set aside for the marginalised. The INDIA bloc, however, won votes among Dalits by playing on fears that the BJP would use a bigger majority to amend the constitution and deprive them of benefits.
This showed that what worked for PM Modi and the BJP in 2014 and 2019 is not working any more, claimed Gandhi. "The party that spent the last 10 years talking about Ayodhya has been wiped out in Ayodhya," he said.
"Essentially what has happened is that the basic architecture of BJP — the idea of creating religious hatred — that has collapsed," he stated.
