Rahul Gandhi opens up about Gujarat Election defeat, says Congress lost to BJP due to THIS

Former Congress president and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi today opened up about his party's performance in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls. Rahul Gandhi also spoke about the reason behind the Congress party's defeat in the Gujarat polls. Addressing a press conference in Rajasthan today, Rahul Gandhi said that Congress faced the full might of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh and defeated the saffron party. 

Rahul Gandhi also said that Congress lost in Gujarat due to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) playing a proxy. He said that had AAP not been there in Gujarat, Congress would have defeated BJP in its stronghold. The former Congress president maintained that AAP was the proxy party in Gujarat and played the role of BJP's 'B-team'. He said that AAP-BJP's collusion hurt the Congress party's prospects. 

Both BJP and Congress have time and again AAP being a B-team of each party. On the other hand, AAP had claimed before the polls that it was going to form a government in the state. 

Rahul Gandhi also accused the BJP of dividing India and spreading hatred. "The RSS-BJP propose a hateful view of India. There's another view that the nation should talk, understand, be kind & share love. This is the view the Yatra has shown to the people. That's where it has been a great success," said Gandhi.

He said that while Congress can defeat BJP, regional parties lack the vision to counter the saffron party's might. "It is absolutely wrong to say that the Congress party has disintegrated, is over. Congress party is an ideology. It's alive in the country. It is in the hearts of millions of people," he said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who was present during the press conference, had earlier said that AAP and Arvind Kejriwal did significant damage to Congress in Gujarat through its lies.

In the Gujarat assembly elections, the BJP won 156 out of the total 182 seats, while the Congress won only 17 seats. Debutant AAP won five seats.