“That’s not even up for discussion…that’s a distraction and I don’t want to get into it.” This is how Rahul Gandhi skirted a question in London on whether he will be the Prime Ministerial candidate in 2024 against Narendra Modi. For the ‘larger opposition unity’, for which Gandhi made a strong case in the same discussion, this seems to be a good start.
Because for most opposition parties, Gandhi has not been acceptable as the ‘PM face of the opposition’ and that in some measure also stopped a larger opposition ‘coordination’ in the 2019 general elections. It saw PM Modi coming back with an even bigger mandate than his maiden 2014 win.
Many in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in fact, see Rahul Gandhi as their ‘asset’ if projected as the challenger to Modi.
Rahul says the key to “do very better” in the elections next year is that the opposition comes together with all its might to defeat the BJP. He even hinted at a surprise soon on this front. Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien, in a piece in ‘The Indian Express’ titled ‘How To Defeat the BJP in 2024’, has said that the opposition must convert Lok Sabha poll into an aggregate of state elections and let those parties take the lead in states where they are strong.
With inputs from News18