To explain the party’s new strategy in Gujarat, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used an analogy comparing racehorses and wedding horses. Addressing a party workers' convention in Ahmedabad on Saturday, Rahul emphasized that to defeat the BJP and make a comeback in the state, the party must strategically deploy its resources.
“One karyakarta mentioned that there’s a problem within the Congress party: we have racehorses and wedding horses, but sometimes we send the racehorses to weddings and the wedding horses to races. He urged me to stop this. So from now on, we will send the racing horse to races and the dancing horse to weddings,” Rahul said, drawing cheers from the audience.
Rahul also confidently asserted that Congress would defeat the BJP in Gujarat in the next election, just as it did in Ayodhya during the recent Lok Sabha polls. “They have challenged us by threatening us and damaging our office. Let me assure you, we will dismantle their government just as they damaged our office. Write it down: Congress will contest and defeat Narendra Modi and the BJP in Gujarat, just like we did in Ayodhya,” he declared.
Referring to a clash between Congress and BJP members outside the Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan in Ahmedabad on July 2, Rahul highlighted the aggression from the BJP’s youth wing, which led to stone-pelting and injuries among the police.
During his speech, Rahul targeted PM Modi over the BJP's defeat in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, where Ayodhya is located. “People of Ayodhya felt angry when they found that not a single local person was invited to the Ram Mandir’s inauguration,” he noted. He also claimed that PM Modi wanted to contest from Ayodhya but was advised against it by his surveyors, fearing defeat and a potential end to his political career.
Rahul Gandhi criticized the lack of representation for the poor at the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January. “I was wondering in Parliament about the Ram Temple inauguration. Adani and Ambani were visible, but not a single poor person was seen there,” he said. He further highlighted that farmers in Ayodhya lost their land due to airport construction, and the locals were upset about their exclusion from the temple inauguration. “The movement started by Advani Ji, centered in Ayodhya, was defeated by the INDIA Alliance,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi arrived in Ahmedabad earlier to meet party workers and victims of the Rajkot Gaming Zone tragedy. Members of the Bajrang Dal protested against Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Hinduism during his speech in the Lok Sabha, leading to their detention by Gujarat Police. The Gujarat Assembly polls are scheduled for 2027.