Notwithstanding the reluctance of his party’s senior leaders to contest the lok Sabha polls in view of the strong anti-incumbency, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asserted that his party would do better than 2009 — when it bagged 206 seats — and that a Congress-led UPA-III would come to power.
Though he admitted to a “certain amount of anti-incumbency against us (Congress)”, Rahul rejected Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s view that the Congress was an “underdog” or that it faced an “uphill” task in the lok Sabha polls.
“Congress is fighting a challenging election and we will win the election. I am not a soothsayer but we will do well,” Rahul told PTI in an exclusive interview.
Answering a question on the failure of the Government and the party to communicate with the people, the Gandhi scion admitted that there could have been more aggressive ways in conveying the achievements to people.
Rubbishing the perception that Congress was losing allies, the party vice-president said that it had alliances with NCP, RJD, JMM, RlD and the National Conference but had lost the DMK and the Trinamool Congress. Asked if the Congress could “do business” with TMC and DMK again, Rahul said that his party is always willing to work with people who share Congress’ ideology and political philosophy and those determined to fight sectarian and communal forces.
Contending that his power was being “overestimated”, Rahul disclosed that he had differed with the Government on a number of issues publicly. Citing examples, he said he differed on issue of making of lokpal a Constitutional body and on the subject of Ordinance to nullify a Supreme Court order disqualifying convicted lawmakers.
In a reference to the controversy triggered by his going public aggressively on the issue while Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in the US, Rahul acknowledged that “in hindsight that it could have been done in a better way”.
On a question on “his lack of interest in Parliament”, he responded by saying that he did not look at participation in Parliament in many terms since he had too spent a lot of time travelling to boost the party. Terming the 15th lok Sabha as the worst-performing in the history, Rahul said, “It is a sorry fact that the Opposition parties had let down their electorate and done Parliament and people a great disservice.”
Asked if he was ready to be the leader of the Opposition and for the long haul if Congress ends up on the Opposition benches, Rahul said when he entered in active politics in 2004 the Congress was written off and he did not join the party when it was in power.