Rahul Gandhi expresses confidence that the Opposition will defeat Narendra Modi, citing growing public discontent.
Gandhi alleges the BJP's financial growth reflects its links with industrialists and corporate interests.
The Congress leader questions Maharashtra's election results, alleging irregularities in voter additions between consecutive polls.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the Congress and its allies would defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had weakened democratic institutions and blurred the distinction between politics and business.
Addressing the Bharat Summit 2026 in Hyderabad, Gandhi expressed confidence about the opposition's prospects, claiming that the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were apprehensive about the political challenge ahead.
"I can tell you already, with confidence, that we are going to defeat PM Modi and we are going to get rid of PM Modi. And you can see it, you can see it on our streets, you can see it in Delhi, you can see it in the fear that the Prime Minister and HM Amit Shah have. This is already a done deal," he said.
Rahul Gandhi Alleges BJP-Adani Nexus
Gandhi also accused the BJP government of allowing business interests to influence political decisions, referring to industrialist Gautam Adani's rise in global wealth rankings.
He alleged that the relationship between Adani and Modi reflected a growing overlap between corporate interests and political power.
"The line between business and politics, between Adani and PM Modi, has evaporated. It does not exist anymore," Gandhi said.
He further claimed that the BJP's assets had grown elevenfold over a decade, linking the increase to the relationship between political power and business interests.
Questions Election Process
The Congress leader also questioned the credibility of the electoral process, citing the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections and alleged discrepancies in voter numbers.
He claimed that 140 million people who voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections had subsequently been declared non-existent voters or non-voters.
Referring to Maharashtra, Gandhi alleged that seven million new voters had been added within three months between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, and that all of them had voted for the BJP.
He questioned the legitimacy of the electoral outcome, alleging irregularities in the voter list and the functioning of the Election Commission.
‘Democracy Was Destroyed In India In 2014’
Gandhi also alleged that India's democratic institutions had weakened since 2014, arguing that the BJP's rise had changed the country's political and electoral landscape.
"In 2014, we witnessed a completely new election, something we've never seen before. Millions and millions and millions of dollars injected into the political system," he said.
He added that the opposition had initially struggled to understand the changes taking place but had gradually identified what he described as the weakening of democratic institutions.
"We discovered it, and we have proven it without any doubt is that democracy was destroyed in India in 2014," Gandhi said.
Describing the political leadership of the past decade, Gandhi also accused those in power of displaying authoritarian tendencies.
"Fascists tend to scream. They shout, they scream, they don't listen," he said, arguing that a direct connection with people remained more powerful than institutional control and financial resources.
