Rahul Gandhi also spoke about a "very important lesson" the Congress learnt in Karnataka.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi today at an event in Delhi asserted that his party will win the upcoming assembly elections in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, and the BJP is in for a "surprise" in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He also spoke about a "very important lesson" the Congress learnt in Karnataka, where they came to power earlier this year, and have adapted accordingly.
"Right now, we are probably winning Telangana, we are certainly winning Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, we are very close in Rajasthan, and we think we will be able to win. That's what BJP is also saying internally," Mr Gandhi can be heard saying in a video posted on X by his party.
The lesson from Karnataka was, the former Congress president said, that the BJP wins elections by distracting and not allowing them to construct their own narrative.
"And so what we did in Karnataka, we fought the election in a way where the BJP could not define the narrative. What you're seeing today, Mr Bidhuri, and then suddenly this Nishikant Dubey, this is all the BJP trying to distract from the idea of the Caste census. They know that it's a fundamental thing the people want, and they don't want to have that discussion," Rahul Gandhi said, referring to BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri's recent communal slurs against BSP MP Danish Ali inside the Lok Sabha.
"Whenever we bring a point to the table, they use this type of stuff to distract, and we have learnt now how to deal with it," Mr Gandhi said, adding that in a situation "where BJP controls the media", they are adapting and controlling the narrative among the people. He gave examples of social welfare schemes in Rajasthan, claiming people back the state government because of them.
Speaking at a conclave organised by the Pratidin Media Network of Assam, Mr Gandhi also said the idea of 'One Nation, One Election' was aimed at distracting from real issues of the people.
"It's one of the BJP's distraction strategies," he asserted.
The main issues in India are concentration of wealth, huge inequality in wealth, massive unemployment, huge unfairness towards the lower caste, OBCs, and tribal communities, and price rise, he said.
"Now, the BJP can't contest those. So 'let's have Mr Bidhuri make a statement. Let's get together and sort of have elections together. Let's change the name of India'. This is all distraction. We know it, we understand it. And we're not going to let them do it," he said.
Rahul Gandhi also alleged that the opposition parties are facing a "financial and media attack", but are doing well despite that.
"Go and ask any businessman in India what happens to them if they support an opposition party. If they were to write a cheque for any opposition party, ask them what happens to them," he said.
The opposition bloc INDIA is not fighting a political party now, Mr Gandhi said, but fighting the Indian state. "We are fighting to defend the idea of India. And that is why we have given our name INDIA," he added.