Rahul Gandhi led the Congress's massive Bharat Jodo Yatra last year (File)
Ahead of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc's Mumbai meeting later this month, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said he would want Rahul Gandhi to be its prime ministerial face.
The BJP got rattled by the popularity of Rahul Gandhi after his Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, Mr Baghel said, said, adding that the got him disqualified from the Lok Sabha and took away his official residence because of this.
"As a Congress man, I feel Rahul Gandhi should be the prime ministerial face," Mr Baghel told news agency PTI in an interview when asked whether he would want Rahul Gandhi to be the face of the INDIA alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"The BJP is very scared of Rahul Gandhi. That is why he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha, made to vacate his bungalow," he said, referring to the Wayanad MP's disqualification from parliament following his conviction in a defamation case.
His Lok Sabha membership was later restored after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction.
Mr Baghel said the BJP is perturbed by Mr Gandhi's popularity, especially after the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
He said the main aim of the INDIA bloc is to oust the "dictatorial people from power" and asserted that any differences among its parties will be resolved through talks.
More than two dozen opposition parties have formed the INDIA bloc to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
On what role he sees for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mr Baghel said, "We would like to see Priyanka Gandhi in parliament. She is our star campaigner."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)