2024 Lok Sabha Elections: Can Rahul Gandhi Emerge as PM Candidate After Bharat Jodo Yatra? Amit Shah Answers

Union Home Minister Amit Shah was speaking about the impact of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.

New Delhi: Union Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah has spoken on the likelihood of former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi emerging as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections after his Bharat Jodo Yatra and said it will be known after the upcoming three Assembly polls.

In an interview with news agency ANI, which was aired on Tuesday (February 14, 2023), Shah said that the impact of Rahul Gandhi's 145-day foot march from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar will be seen after this month's elections in Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya. 

Rahul last month completed his five-month and over 4000-kilometers Bharat Jodo Yatra, which the Gandhi scion walked the most part of. The yatra traversed 12 states and two Union territories after its launch on September 7 last year.

Experts believe he has now "arrived as a man" and is no longer Indira Gandhi's grandson, Rajiv Gandhi's son.

"He is now Rahul Gandhi, the man. That is a very critical change in how people perceive him today," an advertising industry veteran told the news agency PTI after the Congress leader's campaign ended on January 30.

2024 Lok Sabha polls | PM Modi has full support of people, BJP has 'no competition': Amit Shah

In an interview with ANI, Amit Shah also exuded confidence in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that there is "no competition" for the saffron camp in the 2024 General Elections and that the people of the country are wholeheartedly moving with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Shah said India has made progress across all sectors and referred to the country being the fastest-growing major economy apart from the steps taken by the government to boost internal security and reduce import dependence in defence.

#WATCH | I believe that there is no competition in the 2024 elections, the country is wholeheartedly moving forward with PM Modi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah in an interview to ANI#AmitShahtoANI pic.twitter.com/3JLJ5qJGw5 — ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2023

He said the progress of the country, making the country secure and making the economy the fastest growing economy in the world, has been among the priorities of the government.

"During the small period of eight years, we have tried to raise the standard of living of 60 crore poor people in the country and we were also successful. There have been so many achievements. There are major changes in Railways, there is a new policy in the space sector and we are preparing to be a leader in the sector, with the new policy we are moving ahead in the drone sector," Shah said. 

He stated that the BJP will perform well in states going to the polls this year including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.