Congress leader KC Venugopal praises Rahul Gandhi for fighting against "fascist forces"

Ernakulam (Kerala) [India], June 5 : Congress National General Secretary KC Venugopal has commended Rahul Gandhi for his relentless fight against BJP, which he termed as "fascist forces" after the results of Lok Sabha elections.
Venugopal expressed his gratitude, highlighting that the Indian populace is now recognizing Gandhi's capabilities, innocence, and dedication to the poor.
"We are thankful for the way our leader Rahul Gandhi fought against these fascist forces. Now the people of India are realizing his calibre, innocence and affection towards the poor, everything is recognised by the Indian people. We are very glad and thankful," Venugopal said.
He added that everything will be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the INDIA alliance leaders, scheduled for today following the Lok Sabha election results.
Venugopal lauded the efforts of all alliance partners, noting the country's high expectations. Celebrating the victories in Raebareli and Amethi, he pointed out that despite abuse from opponents, Congress candidates emerged victorious.
"All the alliance partners have done well. Now the country has a great expectation. Raebareli and Amethi, we have won both. The candidate herself from Amethi abused KL Sharma and called him the PA of Rahul Gandhi, but he defeated her," Venugopal said.
According to the Election Commission, Congress candidate Kishori Lal Sharma won the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, defeating BJP candidate Smriti Irani by 167,196 votes. The Congress candidate polled 539,228 votes, while Smriti Irani secured 372,032 votes.
In Raebareli, Gandhi recorded a major victory by defeating BJP candidate Dinesh Pratap by 3 lakh 90 thousand votes. He had contested this seat aiming to save the lone bastion of the party in the state after he lost Amethi in 2019.
Criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Venugopal accused him of dividing the country and lacking responsibility.
"He (PM Modi) didn't have any more responsibility to claim for a Prime minister in that way he divided the country like anything," Venugopal said.
He emphasised that Congress, unlike PM Modi, does not have a hunger for power and expressed gratitude towards the people of Raebareli, despite the continuous attacks on Rahul Gandhi.
As the counting for the Lok Sabha elections was nearing its end, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) crossed the majority mark and is ahead on around 300 seats, while the INDIA bloc, defying all predictions is leading in 232 seats, according to the latest trends.
A few exit polls predicted that the NDA could reach the goal of "400 paar" as claimed by BJP leaders in the run-up to the general elections.
Notably, most exit polls predicted a straight term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with quite a few of them projecting a two-thirds majority for the ruling BJP-led NDA.
Rahul Gandhi also won the seat of Wayanad, which paved his entry to the Lok Sabha in 2019. He defeated Communist Party of India-Marxist candidate Annie Raja by 3,64,422 votes.
The Congress party thanked the people of India after the party improved its tally from the last elections and the INDIA bloc leading in over 230 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress posted a picture of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and former AICC president Sonia Gandhi, posing with the victory symbol. It was captioned "Dhanyavad Hindustan."
Votes will be counted tomorrow for Lok Sabha polls held in seven phases. Counting will also take place for assembly polls in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.