BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari called Rahul Gandhi’s latest press conference a “damp squib”.
Bhandari disputed Gandhi’s remarks on anti-incumbency, citing BJP election losses since 2014.
The BJP’s response followed Gandhi’s renewed allegations of electoral irregularities and “vote chori” amid the ongoing dispute over the Election Commission’s SIR exercise.
The BJP on Thursday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his latest press conference in New Delhi, dismissing his claims as false and calling the event a “damp squib”. BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari also mocked Gandhi’s “Chhatron Ki Goonj” initiative, describing the Congress press conference as “Jhoot Ki Goonj”.
In a post on X, Bhandari accused Gandhi of making false claims and said the Congress leader was unable to win public support through “democratic means”. He then listed two statements from Gandhi’s press conference and offered what he described as the BJP’s “truths” in response.
BJP Counters Rahul Gandhi’s Anti-Incumbency Claim
Responding to Gandhi’s reported claim that there had been no anti-incumbency against the BJP since 2014, Bhandari said the BJP had lost 20 elections during that period.
Bhandari also responded to Gandhi’s question about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had continued to win elections. He contrasted Modi’s electoral record with Congress’s long-running victories in Rae Bareli and questioned whether the Congress had engaged in “vote chori” during the tenure of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi also challenged Gandhi’s comments on anti-incumbency.
Trivedi argued that anti-incumbency had been particularly persistent against the Congress, citing the party’s electoral history in states including Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
“The Congress has never returned to power in Tamil Nadu since 1967, a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party did not even exist,” Trivedi said. He also pointed to the Congress’s absence from power in West Bengal since 1977, noting that the state was governed by the Left Front for 34 years until 2011.
BJP Responds To Rahul Gandhi’s Election-Rigging Allegations
The BJP's response came shortly after Gandhi launched a fresh attack on the Union government and the Election Commission over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Gandhi has alleged that “all elections are being rigged” and has repeatedly raised concerns over the electoral-roll revision process.
The BJP has rejected such allegations, while the Election Commission has maintained that the electoral-roll revision is part of its statutory responsibility.
The latest exchange adds to the wider political dispute over SIR, with the Congress and other Opposition parties questioning the Election Commission’s handling of electoral rolls, while the BJP has defended the process and challenged Gandhi’s claims.
