Congress, Left ideologically bankrupt: BJP chief JP Nadda

Wayanad: BJP chief J P Nadda said on Friday that parties within the INDI Alliance, such as the Congress and the Left, have become 'ideologically bankrupt.' He highlighted their fierce electoral battles with each other outside of Delhi while maintaining cordial relationships within the national capital to oppose the BJP.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of a roadshow organised by the BJP-led NDA in Sulthan Bathery for its candidate K Surendran, the BJP chief cited the electoral battle between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and LDF's Annie Raja of the CPI in the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.

He pointed to this fight between the Congress and the Left parties to reinforce his claim, highlighting the apparent camaraderie among their top leadership in New Delhi despite the rivalry elsewhere. "The double standards and hypocrisy of Rahul Gandhi, the Indian National Congress, CPI(M), and CPI are visible here. CPI general secretary D Raja's wife (Annie Raja) is contesting against Rahul Gandhi as an LDF candidate. However, in Delhi, D Raja sits between Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. They are ideologically bankrupt, and the outcome is evident here," Nadda said.

When asked about Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's allegation that if there is no glitch in the EVM, the BJP is not going to win more than 180 seats, the BJP chief hit back at her, saying the Congress leaders have no issues with the EVMs when their party wins polls like Karnataka. Calling both Priyanka and her brother Rahul "political tourists," Nadda said, "They come for the election and then vanish. How can you take their statements seriously?

"When they win in Karnataka, they have no issues with EVMs. When they ruled Rajasthan for five years, they had no issues with the EVMs," the BJP chief said. He said the BJP will have a strong presence in the southern states in the Lok Sabha polls. "In the south, I saw much enthusiasm... the roadshow in Wayanad for Surendran. The participants were enthused; many turned out in large numbers," he said.

Earlier, while addressing the gathering in Sultan Bathery, Nadda launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi accusing the Congress's Wayanad Lok Sabha candidate of believing in dynastic rule, which, according to him, is detrimental to Indian democracy. He alleged that Rahul, who is facing a probe in the National Herald case, has no other option but to protect corrupt people.

"Rahul Gandhi is driven by family politics and is implementing the same. The politics of appeasement is his motto. In Delhi, Rahul Gandhi is hand-in-glove with D Raja, whereas in Wayanad, he is contesting against his wife. This is why he is known as a man without any political stance," Nadda said.

Campaigning for the BJP-led NDA candidate in Wayanad, Surendran, he alleged that Gandhi was practising the policies of "divide and rule" and "vote-bank politics" in the country. "Rahul Gandhi believes in the politics of appeasement. He represents dynastic rule and engages in vote-bank politics," Nadda said while speaking at a roadshow organised in Sulthan Bathery in this hill constituency. "Rahul Gandhi believes in dynastic rule, which is detrimental to Indian democracy," the BJP chief charged.

Nadda said that Rahul Gandhi is contesting in Wayanad as he is aware that he will lose in Amethi if he contests from that seat. The BJP president also criticised the Congress and Gandhi for the support extended to the grand old party by the SDPI, a political offshoot of the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). "The SDPI is supporting Rahul Gandhi and the Indian National Congress," he alleged.

Nadda alleged the SDPI supports Congress in general elections and the CPI(M) in local body politics, claiming that both parties are "conducive to anti-national forces." He also claimed that both the Congress and the CPI(M) had become ideologically bankrupt. Under attack from the BJP, the Congress in Kerala had rejected organisational support announced by the SDPI in the Lok Sabha elections but welcomed individual voters to support the UDF. Later in the day, Nadda also addressed the BJP's election meeting in Palakkad.