Assembly election results 2017: Rajnath takes a dig a Rahul, says 'sar mundaate hi ole pade'

On December 16, 2017, Rahul Gandhi took over as the Congress president.

File photo

New Delhi: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday took a dig at Congress president over results in Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

"Abhi toh kuch nahi bolunga kyunki woh haal hi mein adhyaksh bane hain lekin 'sar mundaate hi ole pade​' (I will not say anything now as he (Rahul Gandhi) has become president (of Congress) recently, but it's like (he) was hit was hailstorm as soon as he shaved his head." 

On December 16, 2017, Rahul took over as the Congress president and had immediately hit out at the BJP, accusing it of spreading hatred and violence in the country.

"They break, we unite. They ignite fire, we douse it. They get angry, we love. This is the difference between them and us," he had told party workers.

Gandhi, who was heralded by the 132-year-old party's top brass, family members and boisterous rank-and-file, had alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking India back to the medieval times.

At the same time, he had set the tone of its future course and how the party would take on its arch-rival BJP, saying the Congress was for inclusive politics and that it respects all Indians that extends even to the ruling party.

The elections for the 182-seat Assembly were held on December 9 and 14, after an acrimonious campaign, which was dominated by a face-off between Prime Minister Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

During the campaign, PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah had trained guns on the Congress on issues like Ram Temple, alleged Pakistani interference in the Gujarat polls and (suspended Congress leader) Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks.

On the other hand, Rahul had persistently attacked PM Modi and the BJP for "not talking about the future of Gujarat" and skipping key issues being faced by the people of the state.

In the 2012 elections, the BJP had won 115 seats while the Congress emerged victorious in 61 seats.

The BJP has won every election since 1995 in the home state of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. However, it was out of power for a couple of years due to party infighting and rebellion by Shankersinh Vaghela.

The saffron party came back to power in 1998, and has ruled uninterrupted since then. 

(With Agency inputs)