Facing a host of adversities, including freezing of party accounts, a hostile Government probing agencies, hostile media, loads of mockery, robbed of the Lok Sabha membership and his decades old accommodation, Congress' Rahul Gandhi took the pitch of 'Daro Mat' to take on the mammoth posturing of world's largest, richest political party BJP-led by Narendra Modi and scored a century for the grand old party after struggling in two past general elections.
Also mocked as 'Shehzada' and dismissed as a serial 'launch', Rahul may have just had the last laugh this Lok Sabha election. Tuesday's Lok Sabha results also proved that those who connected Rahul during his two Bharat Jodo Yatra reaped the benefits when the results were being declared particularly in States of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar and nonetheless Uttar Pradesh.
A series of electoral losses could not prevent Rahul to catapult him from being tagged as a reluctant politician to resurrect the political fortunes not only for the grand old party but also making the Congress relevant for a formidable and imposing Opposition.
This remarkable achievement signals a potential shift in the Indian political landscape and suggests that Rahul 's strategic overhaul of the party has resonated with voters across the nation.
Needless to say, answering to the last minute hostility Rahul faced from the media and exit polls which predicted Congress as also ran, he called the exit polls as Modi Media Polls.
He had confidently mentioned a 295 plus figure for the INDIA Bloc.
Though quite far from the tally as compared to ruling BJP, a confident INDIA Bloc will meet and decide on Wednesday whether to approach former partners such as the JD(U) and the TDP to attempt Government formation at the Centre.
"We are going to have a meeting with our partners tomorrow. These questions will be raised and answered there," Rahul said at a Press conference when asked if the Congress and its allies will approach parties that are part of the NDA to try and form a Government.
He was joined by his mother and longest serving Congress president Sonia Gandhi, sister and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Priyanka who too became the cynosure of all eyes expressed her great satisfaction on the Lok Sabha performance of Congress and particularly the party's resurgence in Uttar Pradesh.
In the Press conference, Rahul reiterated his commitment to protect and safeguard the Indian Constitution and said this election results signal the fact that the Indian voters have rejected the politics of Narendra Modi.
"The numbers show that the Indian voter has rejected Modi and the BJP. It is a defeat of the BJP," he said, while adding that on June 5, the INDIA Bloc partners will meet and discuss the way forward.
Rahul has been working to rejuvenate the Congress, focusing on issues of social justice and grassroots mobilisation through his two Bharat Jodo Yatras and also promising for caste census if the party was voted to power.
As votes were counted for the Lok Sabha election on Tuesday, the former Congress president derided by so many through the campaign was one of the drivers of his party leading or winning close to 100 seats, almost double the 52 from 2019.
To connect with the masses he was also seen riding a truck and tempo, working on the fields and all positioning through Press conferences, and posting short videos and social media platforms.
Congress leaders on Tuesday credited Rahul for a campaign that focussed on people's issues and welfare measures, one of the reasons for the party's stunning fightback against the high-on-confidence BJP.
Some of his punch lines also caught on and trended on social media. Like his 'Khata khat khata khat paise ayenge account mein' refrain while explaining the party's 'mahalakshmi' guarantee under which the party promised to give Rs 8,500 per month to one woman in every poor household if it comes to power.
He contested from Kerala's Wayanad and Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli, winning the Southern seat by 3.64 lakh votes and winning the northern one by a margin of 3.9 lakh votes.
It would be interesting to see which one he retains, the one that sent him to Parliament last time or the family bastion. Rahul had made his poll debut from Amethi in 2004 and saw relatively smooth sailing in the first 10 years with the UPA being in power. But the last 10 years were challenging.
He won the 2014 polls against the BJP's Smriti Irani by over one lakh votes. She ran a spirited campaign and made inroads into the Congress citadel of Amethi, finally beating the Gandhi family scion by over 55,000 votes in 2019. He certainly was a key figure who turned the tide for the Congress and the INDIA Bloc in the polls and his stature as a politician has certainly gone up several notches with the good showing of his party.
