It's official: Modi vs. Rahul is now the focus of Indian politics.
Rahul's nearly doubling of his party's tally in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections must be considered the coming of age of a leader whom many did not consider even a serious politician, let alone a credible challenger to PM Modi, given the BJP's deep traction among vast swathes of voters across the country for a decade.
Today, the Lok Sabha put on a unique show: Following the election of NDA candidate Om Birla as the speaker of the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shook hands courteously. Birla was escorted to the Speaker's chair by the two leaders. This is due to Rahul Gandhi's current stance on constitutional issues, which differs with PM Modi's. Rahul has emerged as the head of the opposition, while PM Modi was chosen to lead the house in the Lok Sabha.
Even while Rahul has long been considered as PM Modi's primary rival, he has never been legally recognized as the head of the opposition. The Congress-led INDIA coalition of opposition parties reportedly refrained from selecting its prime ministerial candidate because it included more experienced leaders than Rahul, including Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar.
However, with the Congress securing 99 seats, a significant increase from its 52 seats in 2019, the opposition must now acknowledge Rahul as its highest leader.
Rahul's real foray into politics began in 2011, however, when he visited the Bhatta-Parsaul villages in Jewar near Noida and staged a foot march through the villages along the Yamuna Expressway in support of farmers who were protesting the Uttar Pradesh government under Mayawati's land acquisition plans. Rahul first entered politics in 2004 when he won from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
Rahul made his maiden political appearance with the intention of influencing the following year's assembly elections. Rahul's efforts to rally the protesting farmers, however, were ineffective because the ruling BSP secured the Jewar parliamentary seat, which includes the twin villages of Bhatta-Parsaul. Rahul was predicted to turn around the Congress party's declining prospects because he had conducted a thorough campaign in the state. However, with 28 seats, the Congress came in fourth place, and the Samajwadi Party emerged victorious.
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