Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over the party’s repeated electoral defeats, urging it to introspect instead of blaming the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Pointing to Congress’s prolonged electoral decline in Gujarat, Shah argued that the party needed to examine why voters continued to reject it rather than attribute its setbacks to the Election Commission.
Shah’s remarks came as Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders continued their protest against the Election Commission of India and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over SIR. The Home Minister questioned the opposition’s argument that electoral roll revision was responsible for its defeats, noting that Congress had struggled at the ballot box well before the exercise began.
“I want to make this point clear, and specifically convey it to Rahul ji, that the Congress party has not won a single election in 41 years. The last election they won was back in 1985; since then, they have faced continuous defeats in Gujarat,” Shah said.
He urged Gandhi to reflect on the party’s electoral record rather than use SIR as an explanation for its poor performance.
“Rahul Gandhi should introspect: is it because of SIR that he is losing elections in Gujarat? Congress needs to introspect rather than blaming SIR,” Shah added.
Shah warns Rahul Gandhi about 2029 elections
Taking his criticism further, Shah said Rahul Gandhi should prepare for another defeat in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. He accused the Congress leader of repeatedly spreading falsehoods and alleged that opposition to SIR was being used to shield infiltrators.
“Rahul Gandhi is constantly echoing lies,” Shah said, attacking the Congress’s campaign against the electoral roll revision exercise.
The Home Minister also cited Congress’s defeats in bypolls in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to question its political strategy. He argued that the party’s electoral troubles could not simply be blamed on SIR, which began after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Shah further pointed out that Congress had lost elections even when ballot papers were used. Accusing the party of engaging in negative politics, he described it as “anti-democracy” and “anti-Constitution”.
His central argument was that repeatedly questioning electoral processes would not address the political and organisational challenges confronting the Congress.
BJP wins 90 of 104 seats in Gujarat civic polls
Shah also highlighted the BJP’s performance in Gujarat’s local body elections, presenting the results as evidence of the party’s continuing popularity in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.
According to the Home Minister, the BJP won 90 of the 104 seats across three local bodies, comprising two municipalities and one municipal corporation.
In the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, which falls within Shah’s constituency, the BJP secured 38 of the 44 seats. He also claimed that the party had increased its vote share in the civic body by 10 percentage points compared with the previous election.
Taking a swipe at the Aam Aadmi Party, Shah claimed that it had contested all 32 seats but forfeited its security deposit in every one of them.
“This massive victory in Gujarat reflects the mood of the state’s voters, demonstrating that the electorate of Gujarat stands rock-solid behind Narendra Modi ji,” Shah said.
He also referred to the BJP’s performance in Rajasthan’s local body elections, claiming that the party had secured a sweeping victory there.
SIR debate intensifies political confrontation
The exchange comes amid a growing confrontation between the opposition and the Election Commission over SIR. Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders have made the exercise a central issue in their campaign against the poll body.
Shah, however, argued that Congress’s repeated electoral defeats demanded a more fundamental reassessment of its leadership and strategy. By citing the party’s record in Gujarat and its recent bypoll setbacks, he sought to challenge the opposition’s attempt to link its electoral fortunes to SIR.
With the 2029 Lok Sabha elections on the horizon, Shah’s message to Rahul Gandhi was clear: instead of blaming electoral roll revision for its defeats, Congress must examine why it continues to lose elections.
