New Delhi, Oct 2026 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the Congress, accusing the party of blaming electoral processes for its repeated defeats instead of examining its organisational weaknesses and political shortcomings.
Reacting to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) strong performance in Gujarat’s civic elections, Shah challenged Gandhi to explain whether the Congress would also attribute its latest electoral setbacks to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He argued that the party’s continued criticism of voter-list revision was an attempt to deflect attention from its declining electoral fortunes.
Delivering a pointed message to the Congress leadership, Shah said the party should prepare itself for another defeat in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, asserting that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would return to power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a decisive mandate.
“2029 mein haar ka mann bana lein,” Shah said, urging the Congress to accept the possibility of another electoral setback. He maintained that voters had understood the Opposition’s political strategy and would not be persuaded by allegations against the electoral system.
Shah questions Congress over Gujarat results
Shah’s remarks came after the BJP secured a sweeping victory in Gujarat’s civic elections, winning 38 of the 44 seats in the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation. The party also retained control of the Thara and Okha municipalities, reinforcing its position in the state’s local political landscape.
Highlighting the Gandhinagar result, Shah said the BJP’s vote share in the municipal corporation had increased by 10 percentage points. He described the outcome as evidence of continued public confidence in Modi’s leadership and the BJP’s political agenda.
The Home Minister questioned whether Gandhi would now blame the SIR exercise for the Congress’s performance in Gujarat, arguing that the revision began only after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. According to Shah, the Congress had suffered repeated defeats under Gandhi’s leadership even before the current exercise began.
He urged the Congress leader to undertake introspection rather than repeatedly question the electoral process and constitutional institutions. Shah also took aim at Gandhi’s protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, questioning the Opposition’s continued attempts to link electoral defeats to voter-list revision.
The Home Minister alleged that the Congress was opposing SIR not out of concern for genuine voters but to protect infiltrators. He claimed that the public had seen through what he described as an attempt to undermine the electoral process.
These remarks form part of the continuing political confrontation between the BJP and the Congress over electoral-roll revision, the role of the Election Commission and allegations concerning the integrity of elections.
Shah cites Congress’s electoral record
Shah broadened his attack beyond Gujarat, arguing that the Congress’s difficulties reflected a wider decline in its political influence across several states.
Taking a swipe at the party’s record in Gujarat, he said the Congress last won the state in 1985 and had been unable to regain its former political position in the decades since. He also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), claiming that its candidates forfeited their deposits in all 32 seats the party contested in the Gujarat civic elections.
The Home Minister referred to electoral contests in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, claiming that the Congress had failed to win a single seat in the bypolls he cited. He also pointed to the BJP’s performance in Assam’s Nagaon, where the party wrested a Lok Sabha seat from the Congress, and its victories in West Bengal, including Nandigram and Rejinagar, as examples of the BJP’s expanding political reach.
In Puducherry, Shah cited the victory of an All India NR Congress candidate backed by the NDA as another indication of the ruling alliance’s electoral momentum.
He also highlighted the BJP’s performance in Rajasthan’s local body elections, claiming that the party won 90 per cent of Municipal Corporation seats, 66 per cent of Municipal Council seats and 65 per cent of Municipal Board seats.
Referring to Gram Samiti elections in Tripura, Shah said the NDA won approximately 4,000 of the 4,600 seats contested.
Ballot-box results used to challenge Opposition
Shah placed particular emphasis on elections conducted through ballot boxes, arguing that Opposition parties should not question the credibility of the electoral process selectively when results go against them.
He maintained that the Congress’s prolonged absence from power in several states could not be explained by allegations concerning voter-list revision alone. Referring to Tripura and West Bengal, he said the party had failed to win power in the states for decades and questioned its continued reliance on the electoral process to explain its political setbacks.
The Home Minister argued that the Congress needed to assess why it had struggled to build a winning political organisation across regions rather than repeatedly challenge institutions responsible for conducting elections.
His remarks came amid an intensifying political dispute over SIR, with the Congress and other Opposition parties raising concerns about the revision of electoral rolls and its potential impact on eligible voters.
Shah questions Gandhi’s claim to represent the country
Sharpening his criticism of Gandhi, Shah said the BJP had continued to win elections since the Congress leader emerged as the party’s principal national face and subsequently became Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He also dismissed Gandhi’s efforts to unite Opposition parties, arguing that bringing together workers from 14 political parties and assembling a gathering of around 8,000 people did not automatically make someone the representative voice of the country.
“The voice of the country is in its villages, fields, forests and far-flung areas,” Shah said, asserting that the Congress leadership had failed to understand the concerns and political preferences of ordinary voters.
He cited the Congress’s electoral setbacks in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to argue that the party’s political messaging was increasingly disconnected from the mandate expressed by voters.
Shah urged Gandhi and the Congress leadership to reconsider their political approach, strengthen their organisation and accept electoral verdicts rather than repeatedly question democratic institutions.
The BJP’s strong showing in Gujarat has provided the ruling party with fresh political ammunition against the Opposition. However, the broader contest over SIR is likely to remain a central point of confrontation between the BJP and the Congress as both sides seek to shape the national political narrative ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
