When Will INDIA Bloc Decide The PM Candidate? Rahul Gandhi Says...

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the INDIA bloc has decided that its prime ministerial face will be decided by the alliance constituents jointly after it wins the polls and exuded confidence that the NDA's 2024 campaign will meet the same fate as that of 'India Shining' in 2004.

The former Congress chief said the Lok Sabha polls are between forces who are trying to "destroy" the Constitution and democracy in the country and those protecting them.

Speaking at the Congress manifesto launch programme, Mr Gandhi said it is a much closer contest than what is propagated by the media, and expressed confidence of winning the polls.

Responding to a question after the release of the party manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, he said, "This election is about those who want to destroy the Constitution and democracy in the country versus those who want to protect the Constitution and democracy." "We do believe that it is very important once this fight is won that we look after the interests of the vast majority of our people, that India is not run for two or three large conglomerates but is run for the vast majority of the people, that we are not a nation of monopolies, we are a nation where there is fair competition among businesses," he said.

Asked about who would be the prime ministerial face, Mr Gandhi said, "INDIA bloc has decided that we are together fighting an ideological election, after winning the election, who will be the leader, the PM, the whole coalition will jointly decide."

To a question on the outcome of the polls, Mr Gandhi said unlike many political commentators he cannot predict the future but expressed confidence that this is a "much closer" election than what is being propagated by the media.

"It is a close election and we are going to fight an excellent election and we are going to win the election," Mr Gandhi asserted.

He said there was a similar feeling being generated by the press when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the prime minister in 2004 when there was the India Shining campaign.

"So, we have a similar idea being propagated, India Shining, with two-three new dimensions, with full support by the monopolists of the country. But do remember what happened to the India Shining campaign and do remember who won that campaign," Mr Gandhi asserted.

The NDA had lost the polls and the UPA government was sworn in.

Mr Gandhi said it is important to understand that this is a fundamentally different election as democracy and the Constitution have not been as much at risk as it is today.

The Congress's bank accounts were frozen and it was left with its original path which was to go to the people, he said.

The party's manifesto is not prepared by the Congress but by the people of India and "we have just written it down", he said, adding that the document is just the "voice of India".

"This election is between 2-5 per cent and the rest of India. What India wants is in the manifesto," he said.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha polls will begin on April 19 and end on June 1. Results will be declared on June 4.

The manifesto, titled 'Nyay Patra', was released at the AICC headquarters in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi. It focused on five 'pillars of justice' and 25 guarantees under them.