Bypoll results: Rahul Gandhi says BJP's ‘web of fear’ broken; Chidambaram urges caution
The bypolls were held in four seats in West Bengal, three in Himachal Pradesh, two in Uttarakhand, and one each in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
Congress leaders on Saturday hailed the resounding victory of INDIA bloc parties in the assembly by-elections, attributing the BJP's dismal performance to its “arrogance, misgovernance and negative politics”. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that the bypoll results were also “strong evidence of the falling political credibility” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.
INDIA bloc parties won 10 assembly seats, while the BJP clinched two and an Independent one, as votes were counted on Saturday for the by-elections held earlier this week on 13 seats in seven states.
“We bow before the public for the positive result of the assembly by-election. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude to them for wherever they voted for the Congress Party candidates,” Kharge posted on X.
“We salute all Congress workers for their hard work and efforts in adverse circumstances. This victory shows that the people have now completely rejected the arrogance, misgovernance and negative politics of the BJP.”
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Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said the by-election results in seven states have “made it clear that the web of 'fear and confusion' woven by the BJP has been broken.”
“Every class including farmers, youth, labourers, businessmen and employed people want to completely destroy dictatorship and establish the rule of justice. The public is now completely standing with INDIA for the betterment of their lives and protection of the Constitution,” Gandhi said on X in Hindi.
Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P. Chidambaram cautioned against over-interpreting the results but stressed that there are “lessons that the BJP cannot brush aside.”
“The BJP has incurred the displeasure of the people because of unemployment and price rise, and because of spreading hate,” he said.
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Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra congratulated the winning candidates of Congress and the broader INDIA bloc parties.
“The people want positive politics that improves the present and prepares a clear blueprint for a bright future. We are committed to the needs and aspirations of young India,” she said.
The bypolls were held on Wednesday in four seats in West Bengal, three in Himachal Pradesh, two in Uttarakhand, and one each in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.