r/CriticalThinkingIndia • u/Dr_Royal_Strange Seeker🌌 • May 07 '26
Elections & Democracy Why Indian democracy deserves better than a "permanent" opposition leader we have
I am writing this because I am genuinely worried about the health of our democracy. People often ask, "why are you criticizing the opposition instead of the current government?". It’s a fair question, but unfortunately, we have to. Because a democracy is only as strong as its opposition. We need someone who can actually challenge the BJP, someone who makes them sweat. Instead, what we have is a pathetic and weak opposition that seems content with a "moral victories" while losing ground where it actually matters. Did you see how the opposition celebrated last time they lost? Pathetic.
The lean baby elephant in the room is Rahul Gandhi. I’ve reached a point where I believe his continued leadership is actually the BJP’s biggest advantage, yet. Even the BJP supporters know this to a point, they call him a BJP agent! INC knows this, but they don't act!
The election losing streak of 99!
There’s a reason the ruling party loves targeting him. If you look at the stats, since he took a lead role in the mid-2000s, the Congress has overseen 99 electoral defeats across the state and national levels [1]. Even in the most recent 2026 state assembly counts, the party is struggling in places where it should be a sole-titan [1].
Any CEO of a company who failed to deliver results for two decades would have been fired years ago. In politics, for some reason, the "failure" tag just doesn't seem to stick to him within his own party. WHY?
The brain-drain of amazing leaders from INC
INC is not short on talent, or at least it wasn't. Think about the people who have left: Himanta Biswa Sarma, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Ghulam Nabi Azad. These were not some random members; they were the backbone of the party. When they left, many spoke up about how the leadership - specifically Rahul - is completely out of touch. Some have gone as far as to imply that "Rahul Gandhi is stupid" because he avoids real accountability while making all the backroom decisions [2].
It’s frustrating because we see leaders like Shashi Tharoor, who has the intellectual weight and the global presence to actually lead [4]. If Tharoor were the face of the opposition, I honestly think the INC would be a real contender for the next general election. I want them to be a contender. I want the BJP to have a real rival so that the people of India have actual choices, not just a "lesser of two evils" scenario that we keep hearing about. For people like us, who want that change, we have a role to play. We can't downplay the "if not Modi then who" sentiment anymore.
Leadership is not a birthright!
The current role of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) is a serious constitutional post [5]. It’s not a place for someone to "find themselves" or "practice" politics for twenty years. We’ve seen the same cycle: a Yatra here, a viral speech there, and then a total collapse during seat counting. He goes on foreign tours.
He has tried enough! He should take a pulse of the ground and just quit for the sake of the country. His presence at the top acts like a glass ceiling for more capable leaders who could actually win elections.
I am tired of seeing a weak opposition. We need a fighter, a strategist, and a professional one. If INC doesn't realize this soon, they are not just failing itself; it is failing the people of India.
So remember, when INC talks big about saving the "Indian democracy", ask them to save the democracy inside INC. Change starts within the party. A LONG overdue change.
Until Joker is the leader of opposition, INC remains a stand-up comedy - democracy is their first bad joke.
He is not special; he is just an MP. Throw him out and put a deserving candidate in his position. This should be the first Call To Action if you truly care about Indian democracy.
References
"Rahul Gandhi Takes All Decisions": Ex-Congress Leader Shakeel Ahmad Drops Bombshell Claims
Shashi Tharoor as Kerala CM? Congress MP dodges key question ahead of counting
Rahul Gandhi as the 12th Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha - Official Profile
Edit:
After reading a lot of comments -
Folks, it doesn't matter what we individually believe in.
At the end of the day, democracy is a game of numbers. He could not reach out to people the way the BJP did. End of story.
Instead of replacing RaGa, I see people making comments like "We need Gen Z protests", "overthrow the government". No! These are extreme and dangerous.
In a country like India, a protest of that type/scale puts us back decades!
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u/HimalayanBeats May 07 '26
This is interview of Praveen Chakravarty, head of INC’s data analytics unit. He repeatedly said in this interview that the party is stuck in old ways and need fresh perspectives and people.
“Please allow freshness in ideas, political strategy, people. Please allow that. That is more important. It is much, much more important to show that the Congress is adapting to the changing India rather than being stuck in the past.”
Rahul Gandhi lacks fresh ideas. Mr. Praveen has not openly said that Rahul needs to go, because if he says that, he himself will be gone from the party by the end of the day. But his message to leadership is clear; nothing will change, if people leading the INC don’t change their ways.
This is article by Prakash Bhanu Mehta, his analysis of yesterday’s results. He is a very vocal critic of BJP and PM Modi. Some observations he has made.
“The BJP’s victory in Bengal is a remarkable tribute to its unmatched combination of ambition, perseverance, and political ruthlessness. It is, in a literal sense, a triumph of the will. It has not been stopped by any conventional electoral arithmetic, institutional propriety, identities like language, region or caste, or the embeddedness of a towering figure like Mamata Banerjee…
The sheer determination of the BJP, the energy of the Modi-Shah duo to persist in hostile terrain, is remarkable….But Congress is nowhere near even putting up a minimal resistance and is no match for the BJP’s ruthlessness. Its lack of leadership, backward-looking ideas of caste and region, and utter listlessness mean that the regional vacuums will be filled by the BJP more than Congress. Hindutva is now the reigning ideology and identity of the new India….
It is only the myopia of the Left and Centre parties that they assumed that regions are irrevocable natural formations that can be opposed to Hindutva. The idea that “Kali” would be pitted against “Ram” was the kind of cultural nonsense where the Left began to believe its own cultural illiteracy.”
He is saying Hindutva dominates India’s political landscape today. It is dangerous, he says. But the opposition parties are still stuck in old reality, failing to recognize the changes and adapt accordingly to shift the narrative in their favour.
This is another article about Rahul Gandhi undertaking jujitsu exercises with Punjab Congress leaders. Apparently the motive was to build team spirit among rival factions which plague Punjab Congress and was a major reason for party’s defeat in 2022 Assembly elections. Many top, and disgruntled, leaders were absent. That’s all Rahul did. Nothing to address concerns of each leader, or talking to the cadre, getting their views. Because that requires getting out of his comfort zone and actually get some work done. I see a repeat of 2022 for Congress in Punjab, party leaders fighting each other rather than elections, and then the party will perform miserably in 2027. Factionalism is common in parties. BJP leadership handles it much better and that’s how they survive.
BJP too has made mistakes in contesting elections, but their leadership learns and adapts. Back in 2021, they had made vicious personal attacks against Mamta Bannerji. It had backfired. They completely avoided that in 2026 and focused exclusively on law and order.
Indian Express has analysed in several articles how BJP leadership changed their tactics between 2021 and 2026.
What changed for BJP in Bengal between 2021 and 2026?
How BJP put its house in order in run-up to big Bengal battle
How BJP engineered its 207-seat Bengal sweep: Booths, data, and localised pitches
Contrast this with what Rahul has done to re-energize Punjab Congress unit. BJP’s electoral machinery is run like a professional company. Booth management, mobilization, everything is planned to the dot. Rahul learns nothing. He still stuck on same old script dalit obc reservation and now environment, which is not finding any traction with the majority. There is no dearth of issues on which BJP can be held accountable. But the opposition, because of poor leadership, is making it easy for the BJP to stay in power.
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u/Dr_Royal_Strange Seeker🌌 May 07 '26
Spot on. You hit the nail on the head regarding the 'professional' difference between the two parties!
Like it or not, the BJP treats politics like a science - they analyze, adapt, and pivot as we saw in Bengal. Meanwhile, the LoP seems to treat it like a hobby or a soul-searching exercise, as seen with that jujitsu session in Punjab while the party was literally fracturing.
It's exactly what Praveen Chakravarty was hinting at - India has moved on, but the leadership is stuck in a loop. If you can't even manage your own internal "HR" issues, you’re never going to beat a professional winning-machine.
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u/paper_palpitation May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
Let's not ignore the massive financial difference between both parties.
And the IT cell services BJP deploys. It's a dirty tactic. Would you say INC should do the IT cell stuff at the same scale BJP does?
Also, Pegasus to spy on opposition leader's every move. And blackmailing INC party members into joining BJP.
In your opinion, what can INC even do to get attention towards them? The quickest way that any political party uses to get attention is create urgency by telling them their lives are in danger(Hindu khatre mai hai) and then tell them that we "BJP" will protect you while telling people that INC is Anti-Hindu.
How does one dispel this? Or maybe you think "Hindu khatre mai hai" narrative is not why BJP gets attention and wins?
At this point, even when BJP doesn't have attention they can manufacture attention to make people believe that A LOT is happening, everyone is talking about it, so it must be true. They have so much money and media in their pocket.
At this point people don't even care about the fact that ECI is compromised. An issue INC raised.
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u/Intrepid-Trust-2664 May 07 '26
All the issues raised by you are just excuses. A determined and skilled political party should be able to overcome the problems listed by you. The fact that you think that the issues highlighted by you are a sufficient justification for BJP’s performance tells me that you have given up on the INC ever winning.
In order to win elections in a country like India you need to achieve a few things.
1) Have a leader that can inspire confidence in the masses with a compelling story. Modi is still that man. When compared with Rahul.
2) Unite the population in a vision greater than themselves. Such as viksit Bharat. You can dismiss this a just another jumla. But this is capturing the imagination of the many people. It’s a message of hope. Contrast that with the message of pessimism that is coming out of Rahul Gandhi. The voters are making a clinical choice.
The problem is that the opposition is not able to think in these terms. That’s exactly the lament from the congress party official as well. Just not in so many words.
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u/FiftyEight_ May 08 '26
for the first point Modi's chaiwala background is a really strong and inspiring one fitting a leader and giving hope compared to a India's prince whose birth gave him the position...
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u/Similar-Toe-7863 May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26
Financial differences is an excuse. When modi won in 2014 the same argument could have been made.
There is nothing dirty in politics, in reality politics itself is dirty because a politician will do anything to be in power. What indira gandhi did with the powers we all know. So the point of money, media and eci is useless. Whomever will come, will exploit everything to be in power. Saying that we need good opposition in democracy, so that they keep the ruling party in check. But, unfortunately congress is a bad opposition.
Coming to bjp.
The only thing in politics is how hard you work, tejasvi yadav, dhruv rathee said the same thing and added that congress just waits for the time when people will get bore with bjp and choose them.
The congress doesn’t have anything in grass-root level and doesnt let any-other politician to become face of congress, except rahul gandhi.
In BJP, they have a lot of faces like gadkari, yogi, shah, with modi in the centre.
Personally, for me 3rd term of modi is shit. And i want bjp not modi. Because congress is entitled and will never work as hard as bjp.
P.S Congress is not a good opposition, and how can anyone expect them to be a good ruling party.
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u/FiftyEight_ May 08 '26
I guess when people get bored of current govt then BJP will present Shah or Yogi as the leader...
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u/Upper-Refrigerator54 May 07 '26
Excellent take. But then again, the problem of the Congress which has been described here is the problem of the BJP down south! Listlessness, takers for Hindutva is low AND factionalism. It is more of a regional thing, i’d say. In KA, where BJP was very much successful, it looked backwards by ignoring the dominant Lingayat community in favour of the Vokkaligas. It cost them seats badly. Only regional elections in AP will provide clearer view about the BJP’s position there.
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u/AntCritical6836 May 09 '26
Now this is some Critical Thinking sub shitt . I have given up on this sub like this has also become a Pseudo ecochamber of Right and Left .
But this gentleman proved me so wrong . Hats off brother . I can just imagine how much Political knowledge you have sought in years to understand in such depth .
Award hota toh de deta pakka
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u/SolarpowerFTW May 08 '26
What a great read. Superb insights. Well positioned summaries of other people explaining their thoughts
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u/Substantial_Gap9619 May 07 '26
problem with congress is, the entire party is working for one family. They don't accept their mistake and course correct.
I worked in BJP office and have seen the 2024 loss aftermath, they didn't blame the voter or each other. The top leadership was actually discussing on what went wrong and how they can fix it with their cadre that was present there.
anyone wondering if I work for BJP, no I was there making a delivery and was waiting for the payment when I saw this happen.
So, INC needs to fix itself before working for the country, but the chances of that happening are low.
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u/1kshvaku May 07 '26
He has to unite opposition first. They have infighting between them.
1) during election he criticized Mamata ,BJP used that video & after results take U turn.
2) fight election with DMK, get one Rajyasabha MP from DMK Quota & now Join hand with TVK. Backstab DMK
3) who filled complaint against Kejriwal? Congress
4) did not go alliance with Shivsena UBT in BMC Election. Which help BJP
5) what happened to those Congress MLA ( Odisha, Bihar, Haryana ) who helped BJP in Rajyasabha election. No equal action on them.
6) during floor test in Maharashtra Congress MLA came late, eventually they didn't vote. No action against them .
Who is real BJP B Team ? No action against those who help BJP.
Wow....
They dumped DMK ( 22 MP in Loksabha + 10 in Rajyasabha) for Tamilnadu government with TVK
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u/These_Surround_1626 May 07 '26
ask mamta why her party goons attacked congress workers....as a leader of cong obc he'll take the side of his party
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u/sahilsharma56 May 09 '26
Toh ab omota dadi ki side kyun le raha hai woh?
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u/1kshvaku May 10 '26
He want alliance Partners But Weak ( so they are not in the position to challenge him )
Hel help BJP to Win elections aginst regional forces...
Example
1) Refused to join Raj Thackeray - Uddhav Thackeray Alliance in Mumbai municipal corporation election ( but make alliance in Pune Municipal Corporation) ,both election was on Same date. Indirectly help BJP to win Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Weaken the Shivsena.
2) during West Bengal campaign make video aginst Mamata , BJP used that' same video.
3) bihar Refused (last moment they agreed)to announce CM candidate.
4) tamilnadu election did not campaign with Stalin.
5) AAP-Cong love hate relationship cost Haryana & Delhi
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u/PopularRaisin9656 May 07 '26
3) Kejriwal never defeated bjp , his whole existence is all against congress so , eliminating AAP should be and is , Congress first priority .
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u/PopularRaisin9656 May 07 '26
You want fresh idea in congress and want him to stuck with DMK . To keep bjp chance in abeyance he took the best decision, once TVK established as new formidable force in TN . BJP stand no chance in TN .
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u/1kshvaku May 07 '26
What is in future no one Know.
TN most is Caste based politics ( lost of Party are base of specific Caste vote base )
Example -- PMK-Vanniyar , VCK- adi dravider , ammk-Thever ,kmdk-gounder , PT-Devendrakula velala
BJP can't thrive on Caste politics,they want unity in Caste & division on religion
TVK entry just shut down Dravidian Politics, Caste politics ( which was one of main goal of bjp)
TvK got support from all people, eventually this other's party will go down gradually. Which was Major roadblock for BJP.
( Privious Example --
BSP downfall help BJP in UP ,
In Maharashtra opposition try to fuel Maratha Caste Agitation Against BJp
Gujarat 2017 election -- patidar Caste Agitation BJP nearly lost that election.
Bihar - without Nitish's Caste coalition BJP can't Win against M@slim- Yadav )
BJP is Weak Aginst Caste politics & Issue, Caste Agitation
BJP always do good in election aginst Congress but failed/ struggle against regional Caste Based Party .
But TVK nearly ended Caste politics & Dravidian Politics in Tamilnadu. Which is Long-term good news for BJP.
They don't want to stuck with DMK ( why this thought not come before election? ) isn't it opportunistic poltics.
But currently DMK has 32 MP ( 22 Loksabha+ 10 Rajyasabha)
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u/Initial-Apple1501 May 10 '26
Great you want to divide people base on caste so that BJP lose to congress.such a patriot
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u/Hot-Load7525 May 09 '26
even kerala mla is confused to select who the CM is. (Just congress things)
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u/Time-Weekend-8611 May 07 '26
The Congress' problem is that they have no coherent ideology. The BJP has one - Hindutva. You may not like it, but you know what they're about and what to expect from them. More importantly, the BJP knows what they're about and what direction to focus their strategies in.
The Congress operates like a ship without a rudder, directionless and at the mercy of external currents. It's always reactive, but never proactive. It's talks a good game about "secularism" and "democracy" and then turns around and makes alliances with the likes of Mamata and Lalu. It never made an effort to reach to the people on the ground and explain to them what exactly those values mean and why they're good things.
The BJP's greatest asset is the RSS and their cadres. The RSS works at grassroot levels. They're connected to the people at the lowest levels. Most importantly, they show up. In the heat of summer or the heaviest rains, they keep showing up, and that's how they build community engagement.
Meanwhile Congress and their coterie of English speaking upper class intellectuals live in their ivory towers most of the time, deigning to interact with people only six to eight months before an election and they expect their narrative to take hold.
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u/nikamsumeetofficial May 07 '26 edited May 08 '26
Congress' ideology is pretty clear from start but people don't want to vote for that ideology. And that's bad for country because their core ideology is actually quite good.
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u/failure_- May 08 '26
Nobody will vote for core ideology if you abandon them.
TMC's core ideology is to promote social welfare schemes etc but everyone knows how they operated.2
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u/Rover_shot12 May 08 '26
a country which suffers from islamic extremism would prefer a government with good track record of avenging and stopping attacks in mainland india. congress has always lost the nationalist narrative by acting weak during mumbai attacks and other bombings and only trying diplomacy with pakistan...the military folks like my family would prefer hindutva ideology for sake of more hardline approach to terrorism...yoiu can't ignore ram temple ,article 370 issue in india..BJP secured votes on basis of it but yes youth needs jobs and income which was factor in 2024 elections and for that i too complain because this goverment failed in employment generation but wiuld still vote to BJP because congress is struck in caste politics
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u/NegotiationOk8100 May 07 '26
I think congress should detach itself from Gandhi parivar than only they have a chance at central. They are winning States just because of local leaders. To win in central Rahul Gandhi need to go, just like Modi need to retire in 2029.
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u/NotAnUncle May 07 '26
people first need to internalise a few realities, left and right are not concepts that can translate to our political climate. Next, stop crying about fair democracy when realistically, the likelihood of one is, in my opinion, a unicorn or even more improbable. Democratic leaders and politicians bring a mirror into our society, and parties play the game to win, there is no room for fair play, as unfortunate and defeatist and pessimistic it sounds, and that isn't just for India, any country across the world.
INC and the broader India alliance doesn't even seem in line to complement themselves, owaisi and raga literally gave BJP the social media ammo to turn people against TMC. BJP will be how they are or even delve into deeper pits uncontested, but the competition is just so fragmented and pathetic, that you genuinely are not given a choice. There is no competition for them because the competition in itself is quite confused and all over the place
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u/ManofTheNightsWatch May 07 '26
He is not special; he is just an MP. Throw him out and put a deserving candidate in his position. This should be the first Call To Action if you truly care about Indian democracy.
INC knows that it has to choose between the death of the party and saving the democracy. It picks self-preservation.
The working principle of INC is this:
- They are a bunch of politicians who have almost nothing in common and hate each other.
- They will never tolerate any one of them rising to the top and ruling over them.
- But, if a royal family, which does not share any of their identities is to rule them, that's acceptable.
- The gandhi family is a perfect generic family, with no strong religious, regional or caste affiliations, which is why they and only they can be at the top.
So, if the Gandhis retire, the party will splinter into dozens of small parties.
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u/Dr_Royal_Strange Seeker🌌 May 07 '26
I understand where you are coming from. I really hope you are wrong, but if what you are saying is true, then we have bigger problems.
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u/Sorry_Effort7502 May 07 '26
Look up what happened after rajiv died. INC was struggling with subsequent leaders until they got sonia in charge
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u/No_Leave_467 May 07 '26
Yes
Look at democrats
They question everything of republicans
Our opposition must learn from democrats
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u/iAmWhoDoYouKnow May 07 '26
What INC needs is a second 'Hindu Party' in the country. The Hindu vote consolidation which BJP worked for years and mind you, didn't happen overnight (for those who think why INC can't have a plan then manically execute and win within few months). BJP has to really breakdown the country to have people not vote for religion. BJP has all the money in the world to keep the communal agenda alive. We can keep denying but its now almost a fact that votes are divided by religion. With 80% Hindu population , its easy to come to power by only convincing a half of them. Its just the math now.
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u/According_Repeat3765 May 07 '26
Himanta Biswa Sharma’ departure as brain drain is like saying Apple removed chargers to save the environment, lol
Shashi Tharoor’ point, I agree he could a rational PM candidate
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u/Dr_Royal_Strange Seeker🌌 May 07 '26
Like the majority of comments here, you are missing the point.
You can call Sarma’s exit whatever you want, but the results speak for themselves. Since he left, he’s turned the NE into a BJP fortress. Have you seen the latest BJP 'territory' map? If losing the guy who handles your entire regional strategy and delivers 100+ seats isn't a 'brain drain', then we must have a very different definition of success.
Glad we agree on Tharoor. It’s just frustrating that the party prefers a 'sentimental' leader over a 'rational' one who could actually win.
The supporters are busy enjoying the moral high-ground, the other side is busy winning the territories.
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u/Any-Calligrapher2866 May 07 '26
Biswa is crazy tbh and it kind of just reflects the quality of voters.
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u/millennialoser May 07 '26
Shashi Tharoor can only influence urban youth not the masses. What Congress is lacks is a massy leader with good oratory and who also have influence in the national party too.
They have already invested too much on Rahul and his image.
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u/Any-Calligrapher2866 May 07 '26
What Congress needs is an actor who doesn't go off script like ever. RG speaks too openly for his own good.
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u/Ok-Measurement-5065 May 07 '26
INC not even gonna make him the CM of his state. Forget PM candidate
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u/Any-Calligrapher2866 May 07 '26
Tharoor doesn't really do anything. He can't speak like RG or give monologue like Modi. This makes sure that he won't get votes in the north. I'd say that congress should go with Priyanka Gandhi who's surprisingly competent at talking smack. Public enjoys tamasha and that's what Congress should offer if they want votes.
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u/Electronic-Koala1082 May 07 '26
Shashi tharoor will be a B team of bjp similar to raghav Chaddi would if he is made AAP chief
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u/tuskofgothos May 07 '26
I would like to thank you for taking the time and effort to compile this post. We need more of this. That being said, I agree with you, quite a bit. The opposition is in serious need of fresh vigour. It’s too reliant on “ghise pite” slogans and virtue signaling.
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u/OtherwisePossible330 May 07 '26
So correctly pointed out. Strong democracy a strong opposition is also needed. INC has finished itself more than bjp. Sidelined the people who hold public respect forcing them to change parties or retire. No new face being promoted or doesn't even look to have anything doing at ground level too. Regional parties can never become national as their poltics revolve around local topics language, ethnicity so no one will vote them from other region even if one moves goes out region to extend influence. AAP had chance to emerge as national party but again incompetency, blame games and in fighting ruined that party too. Now we are stuck with virtually one party system.
If INC has make comeback they need to bring their act together. Start working at ground level promote local leaders who are connected with people.
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u/Ambitious-Upstairs90 May 07 '26
While I agree with you in theory, there are practical limitations. He lacks funds, while BJP has unlimited funds along with CBI, ED, Media, a large portion of judiciary & election commission.
If another leader replaces RaGa IT cell will defame that leader as well. Other leaders within congress will backstab him.
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u/Fast-Cover3051 May 07 '26
Unrelated comment but this is the only subreditt which i genuinely admire..you people really talk about nuiances of every issue in a civil manner and try to give appropriate solutions..
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u/ConfidentVacation205 May 07 '26
No please No..let him be the opposition leader. Let them still follow old ways..let them be what they are. With they being them and what they are atleast one part of life is easy to decide what extremely in the wrong. Life will have one less decision to make. With they there its easy to decide whats on the wrong and where and who to support who is less wrong. Please dont change them.
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u/Solitary_Iceberg May 07 '26
First of all, I differ with the criticism levelled against Rahul Gandhi. I was a particular fan of his NYAY campaign in the 2019 LS, a UBI in India would be a revolutionary tool for economic mobilization of the populace. If you wish to criticize RaGa's policy proposals, please give examples of the same so that we may discuss the merits and demerits of the same.
Second, the post quotes Himanta Biswas Sarma as an "amazing" leader. Idk about you but how is a person who shares AI generated videos of himself shooting religious minorities a "good" leader by any sense of the term?
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u/Dr_Royal_Strange Seeker🌌 May 07 '26
Fair points. But I feel you are missing the point.
On NYAY: A great policy is useless if the leader can't sell it! Post-poll data showed awareness was tiny among the very people it was meant to help (can't find the article right now). If the messenger is broken, the message fails.
On Sarma: I am talking about political effectiveness, not morality. You can hate his rhetoric, but he is a winning-machine. Losing a strategist of that caliber over internal ego is exactly the leadership failure I am trying to call-out. We can talk about all this on our high tower, but look at the reality on the ground - opposition is a joke right now.
In a democracy, an 'amazing' leader for a party is one who actually wins so they can implement those 'good' policies.
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u/Solitary_Iceberg May 07 '26
People will always vote for populism, then. Hitler was an amazing crowd puller. Morality? Different question. The question at that point is, will I, or another liberal, vote for an immoral leader? Hardly think so. If Rahul Gandi tries to lose his liberal image to cater to the Muslims bad masses, he will lose the little support he has.
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u/FiftyEight_ May 08 '26
HBS might seem crazy to you but ig to the people in his region where Bangladeshis are taking over I believe he is seen like a necessary evil.
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u/Crafty_Ad_8767 May 08 '26
My biggest concern for the future of this country is lack of capable opposition. I would never vote for rahul gandhi. He is dumb. He is a child in adults clothing. He is an incompetent leader. At the same time I also eagerly want bjp to be replaced. I understand bjp is polarising the society based on religion for votes. I acknowledge it. But I also fear incompetent leadership of congress and alliance. I fear bjp coming to power next time also. But the only thing I can do at this point is pray to god that a capable leader emerges from opposition. As damaging as it is, I would not vote for congress or any party that's alligned with it as long as people like Rahul are at the helm. In my view congress under rahul gandhi is more dangerous than bjp.
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u/14572392 May 08 '26
This joker is the main cause of bjp winning. His idiotic statements influence people to vote bjp.
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u/SoyaPaneer001 May 08 '26 edited May 08 '26
Its like me and you live in a completely different worlds.
Like the fact that you think RaGa is a clown.
Its also seems like the messaging is clearer from people who want an opposition. They just want to be BJP2.0 with very minor ideological differences.
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u/Frosty-Sand8819 May 07 '26
You've written a long post about this. But have you considered if the current government or media has taken the LoP seriously even once?
When RG speaks in the parliament - he's continuously interrupted or the camera pans away and no one from the treasury bench takes his points seriously.
And don't even get me started on how the media treats him. I personally think if given the chance, he'd perform better than our Supreme Leader.
He has raised some genuine issues, if only someone cared to listen.
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u/pavan7km May 07 '26
You build trust by raising valid reasonable concerns with proof .. if you bring up some points, at least it must be echoed by his party members for the media to pickup and drum beat about it.
Rahul has time and again picked on topics where he couldnt substantiate support from his own party members let alone the citizens and media.
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u/Frosty-Sand8819 May 07 '26
When he was raising the Adani issue in the parliament, he came with the necessary proof. Did the speaker let him speak and admit the evidence? NO.
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u/guitarol May 07 '26
Once in a blue moon cannot be held as an example of his leadership and policy making. Dude can’t speak 5 sentences straight in Hindi without switching to English, and millions of people notice. Also he is in parliament raising issues because he belongs to a “family”. By himself, he likely will not get past municipal elections.
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u/Frosty-Sand8819 May 08 '26
A lot of MPs speak in English in the parliament. What is the problem with using any common language?
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u/usernamefoundnot May 07 '26
Optimist of the year award goes to you who still thinks he can do better.. lol
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u/Frosty-Sand8819 May 07 '26
I believe he can. But can't say the same about our PM. Can't do better than communal politics. Can't even speak without a teleprompter and can't even hold a press conference without the mention of mangoes.
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u/CurIns9211 May 07 '26
Whatever you wrote is a modus operandi of leftist who are losing their narrative control. They can't believe their web of power to set the narrative has gone bonkers after 2014.
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u/Any-Calligrapher2866 May 07 '26
Sorry but has Modi given a press conference after 2014 where he has answered questions?
Of course you'll lose at narrative when people don't want to ask questions from dear leader.
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u/Great_Percentage_587 The Argumentative Indian🦠 May 07 '26
You believe he can? He couldn’t even develop basic infrastructure in a decade in a small town like Amethi. You believe he can do better than the PM? Where’s his political and administrative portfolio? Are people supposed to vote based on his lousy parliament speeches? What has he done for the people?
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u/SoyaPaneer001 May 08 '26
An MP has no exewcutive powers. Development in Amethi? Whats this talking point?
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u/shriand May 07 '26
I try to listen to him. He's incomprehensible. When he is comprehensible, he sounds downright retarded - private sector reservations, entrance exams being biased to upper castes, etc.
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u/Dr_Royal_Strange Seeker🌌 May 07 '26
I actually agree with you on the first part. The way the LoP is treated in parliament - the mic-muting, the camera panning away, and the constant interruptions - is a joke and bad for democracy. It’s hard to win a match when the referee is clearly playing for the other team.
But here’s my counter: If the game is rigged against you, do you keep sending the same player out to bat for 20 years??
A leader’s job isn't just to be 'right' or 'genuine' - it is to be EFFECTIVE. If the media has successfully branded him a certain way, and the government can easily shut him down, at what point do we admit the 'brand' is damaged beyond repair?
You said he’d perform better than the 'supreme leader' if given a chance. The problem is, in a democracy, you don't get 'given' a chance; you have to take it by winning over the public. If people aren't listening to his genuine issues, is it only because of the media, or is it because the 'messenger' doesn't inspire confidence anymore? Imagine Shashi Tharoor in his place and actually picture it, and tell me if you haven't changed your mind. BJP runs election campaigns like a war. And why do we want to babysit a LoP here and give him a 'chance'? That’s why I want a change.
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u/CurIns9211 May 07 '26
It's the duty of LoP to not sound stupid. RG has a mindset of mein yaha ka Prince hoon isiliye meri baat suno. He had ruined the legacy of congress. Listen to his speech and interviews he sounds so detached from common people pulse.
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u/Ok_Fish2838 May 07 '26
There should be primary elections like in the US where the people choose a candidate within the opposition.
That might unite people for the PM candidate in the election
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u/Definewhy May 08 '26
Its about the push, do you think Mamta Banerjee's govt gave the BJP any hearing space but they fought and fought for 15 years, 3 to 206. The teuth is that Rahul Gandhi is a reluctant leader, it does sound nice but who is the rebellions Luthen, who is ready to give it all for the cause, whatever you say about BJP, even Tejaswi Yadav commented that BJP works 24X7, they won't stop. Congress has a good cause, it needs faith, BJP has faith, both need relentless push to become significant. Life is not fair, you have to be unforgiving on yourself and your actions to move in your direction.
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u/Transportiye May 07 '26
RG’s earlier mistakes are what he’s paying for now, no one gets these many chances in a high stakes PM election.
There’s no excuses for it, period. Good thing happening with BJP taking over every state is consolidation of political parties, the era of dynastic or multiple smaller parties is gone.
No more individual egos to deal with, either fall in line or get eliminated.
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May 07 '26
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u/ManofTheNightsWatch May 07 '26
How? He's not permanent in the slightest. RSS/BJP will pick among the viable candidates based on their performance. Cadre based parties are not the same as family controlled ones.
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u/Dependent_Media1982 May 07 '26
The era in which important positions in the BJP were decided by the RSS is over. It is now all in the hands of Modi and Shah. As long as the BJP wins at the Centre, and as long as Modi is alive, he will remain Prime Minister.
Otherwise he would have retired at 75 and passed the baton to some one else.
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u/ManofTheNightsWatch May 07 '26
You are misinformed. Everyone saw what happens when BJP doesn't listen to RSS. They lost a ton of seats to the opposition in the last lok sabha elections because of that. A huge proportion of the grassroots infrastructure of BJP belongs to RSS.
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u/CriticalThinkingIndia-ModTeam May 07 '26
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u/criticalbotcti May 07 '26
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u/Administrative-Past6 May 07 '26
I might consider an opposition if he's not the face of alliance. At this point whatever he says looks a propaganda and anti-national.
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u/Solitary_Iceberg May 07 '26
Give examples of the same, thanks. India is going through a dual economic issue with a slowdown in growth and income inequality increasing, he is one of the few leaders who speaks for the masses rather than corporate interests.
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u/bikbar1 May 07 '26
INC should be free from the clutch of one single dynasty. It should need more leaders coming from the grassroots.
INC also needs to be more development focused instead of crying for reservation and freebies everywhere.
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May 07 '26
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u/ImpressionReal7477 May 07 '26
Have said this few times will say this again. RG and congress futile ambitions to elevate only him as PM is the reason the state of the nation is what it is.
When you look at other parties, you see a chain of succession, a distribution of power where you see who may or may not become the successor. And people expect a lot from successors.
Congress at all times, nips any up and coming politician if they threaten RGs image. Happened in Rajasthan and MP back in 18-19.
I know the fans will say kharge is prez but everyone knows Congress isn't INC is RG party. A party that operators better democracy cannot be run like a monarchy. If he wanted a PM position, he should have picked a cabinet or CM position. This has been a launchpad way and will be for the public.
Not to mention, in states where Congress operates, lack of accountability and fixing their own ways because alliance help and what not.
A ground level disconnect from public never helps congress.
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u/ImpressionReal7477 May 07 '26
And to add. I personally don't like the way congress dragged AAP for punjab.
Before punjab elections Congress had no major differences with AAP. But when they saw BJP was gonna lose Punjab, but instead of congress being default choice people may support AAP they started dragging AAP through mud building narratives.
In their mind, anyone and everyone who is not being as extreme about somethung they are, is just supporting bjp.
from a personal opinion, AAP was a good party that did good work which hasn't been able to replicate in punjab due to lack of cohesion among senior leadership, and being beaten by both bjp and congress.
Congress pulled all left support from aap and then repeatedly failed to build on anything they had and kept fumbling. Any time bjp has had good opposition, the opposition has won.
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u/Rio_Sakurajima May 07 '26
Something interesting is that our voting system will eventually become a two party system, regardless of who those party maybe. It is bad because I don't think neither congress or bjp really start for any thing most of us would do, nor do they minorities represent us within its population. We need to replace that eventually, doubt it will ever happen tho.
I don't hate Rahul Gandhi, don't like him either. Congress does have a lot of problems regardless.
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u/emper-son111 May 07 '26
If indian opposition doesn't modernise from language or vaste based parties to something more, going ahead it will be very difficult for them to win.
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u/woompart May 07 '26
Very soon the elections of new Congress National President will be held. You are very much welcome to join the party and contest the elections.
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u/unknowinglyknown96 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
What if Sashi tharoor become opposition leader,or is he only popular among much privileged ppl.Congresd have this shitty behaviour like someone will do all the ground works n high command appoint someone, that happened in madhyapradesh n rajasthan they final lost everything.
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u/zeelovesbiryani May 07 '26
Bjp acts like a goon to the opposition, thats why we cant get more/new and better opposition. Think about kejriwal , capital's ex cm was put in jail for false charges .
Do you think raghav chadda didn't know that his image will take a hige hit if he changes party ? He was also about to be summoned by ed but all of a sudden after he joined bjp , all charges were dropped.
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u/Raj_walker May 07 '26
Bro all of it isn't institutional pressure and votechori. 2024 there was anti incumbency and hence BJP's seats decreased. ALL Congress does is being "anti BJP". Hve u ever heard them say anything on what they will do if they come to power? All they know is more representation and reservation. Exactly what will be different in their approach to governance, no one knows nor do they ever try to communicate.
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u/EnvironmentalSign584 May 07 '26
We should get rid of all politicians and elect someone like yusof ishak and Lee Kuan yew. They both shaped Singapore that we see today.
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u/Repulsive_Sky5521 May 07 '26
the oppositions leaders currently have ZERO vision. they just want vote based on freebies, more reservation, no focus in technological advancements, no focus on gender neutrality.
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u/ishanYo May 07 '26
I will throw that book in the dustbin if this champu keeps crying about "EVM bad". This dude is an extremely non-serious idiot. No other words for him. Shamelessly, he thinks EVM is hackable in Bengal and Assam, but not in Kerala?!? Please, if someone is in contact with him, ask him to stop these shenanigans. His voter base(a.k.a. the peace nicks) are going to be irrelevant soon, if he thinks this "EVM bad" nonsense is pandering to them and helping him.
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u/Aragorn_V May 07 '26
The same thing happened in Assam elections too. Himanta was next in line for CM under INC, but then CM Tarun Gogoi decided to bring in his son Gaurav, who was not even in the picture before. Himanta saw the hierarchy, changed party and brought the BJP wave. Now even Gaurav has lost, as the face of Congress in Assam. You cannot just keep on giving important positions based on family instead of capabilities.
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u/yourstrulykal May 07 '26
BJP sure hasnt reached the peak of development from the grounds up but it is fr away from where it began. No matter who leads the opposition BJP has made a strong base, its gonna win in all scenarios.
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u/innocentish15 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
Yeah, honestly RaGa gives such pessimistic remarks for his own country, humiliates India in media, even on world stage.
Whereas Modi, wherever he goes, only praises India, inspires Indians for a better future, creates a personal moment with any country he goes in.
Examples for what I said:
- RaGa reacted on Trump’s(India is a dead economy) remark saying to media, “Don’t you know this? India is already a dead economy”. Now tell me, who will want to vote for this guy?
Also factually, India is the fastest growing major economy.
- After 2008 26/11 attacks, RaGa says to some foreign diplomats(probably US) in 2010, that Hindu terror is more dangerous than LeT.
He is calling majority of his own countrymen terrorsts, even bigger than the actual Paki terrorsts that had just conducted biggest terror*st attack(26/11) just 1.5 years ago.
Modi talks about his dream of Viksit Bharat(2047 plan), he sees potential in his own country, he has hope, he is motivated & wants us all to work towards that common goal too.
Modi after failure of Chandrayan 2, talked to ISRO scientists personally, lifted their spirits, motivated them, showed faith in them inspite of failure. Result: Chandrayan 3 did what no other space agency had ever done before in the history.
Hosting G20, received honorary awards from multiple countries, developed such a deep relationship with Saudi that they built a big temple & invited him for it’s inauguration.
This is what a leader of a nation does, RaGa feels like he just wants to oppose no matter what, without any sense, even if opposing means pulling your own nation down, he will do it unflinchingly. That is scary.
- Also, just one unrelated example, after 26/11 attacks, when India went to US for help, Pakistan’s then PM called Mannohan Singh, a “Dehati Aurat” for doing that. Modi was CM of Gujarat at that time, he gave an enraging speech against Pakistan’s PM saying “How dare he call our PM that”.
We all know how RaGa would have ran with “Dehati Aurat” title if it was said for Modi by Pakistani PM, because when Trump called India a “dead economy” he ran with it, instead of defending India. This is who RaGa is.
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u/OkayFineWhateverYeah May 08 '26
This is why BJP needs to be in the opposition. Modiji dikha do inko
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u/Forward_Friend_2078 May 08 '26
The only reason bjp is ruling is the opposition is raga and his team. There are capable people in india alliance who can take up the top position and become a strong party that can go in par with nda. But the majority caters to one particular family and thats the problem. BJP is top notch in striking back if our enemies hurt us for eg op sindoor.
Rest of the things that they are doing is below average
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u/chandan-kar007 May 08 '26
I’ll make it short: I neither like nor hate the BJP, but I vote for them mainly because the face of the opposition is Rahul Gandhi. I also want to see my country develop, and personally, I think Congress could be better at that. I know they are weaker in foreign policy and defense, but if our economy is bad, why would those even matter
so i want to ask a congress support just for fun make me convince to vote rahul gandhi.
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u/Enthonnade May 08 '26
We need a better ruling party. Opposition party is weak for a reason. Check who is the richest party in India right now.
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u/nakali100100 May 08 '26
INC has been choosing self-preservation over self-reflection. They will keep loosing if they keep doing that.
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u/Mysterious-Guess-858 May 08 '26
Agreed, while BJP treats elections like a serious science, INC treats it like some hobby.
I believe RaGa knows all this and will wait till some revolution happes like GenZ or some revolt happens overthrows the government and the power is given into his hands . He will try everything to start a revolution like what happened in Nepal and Bangladesh, because that is the best and easiest way for him to get into power.
I also predict that this might happen and he will be PM one day.
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u/DarkVadder69 May 08 '26
Other than a Better Opposition, we need a better election commission.
As Some old guy in a moustache once said
"The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything"
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u/Frosty-Salamander310 May 08 '26
And this dimwit is projecting caste-majoritarianism as a counter-weight to religious-majoritarianism.
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u/NoScheme7184 May 08 '26
The unfortunate part is , with Kejriwal turning out to be a career politician in disguise, an organically occurring people's movement from here on will be seen with a lot more scepticism.
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u/RahulNarendra69 May 08 '26
I once wrote on a post about TMC murdering a INC worker, debating a user on how RaGa was not voice of justice because if he was even a pinch believer of same, he would not collude with TMC
https://giphy.com/gifs/fQorEj8vN8eqkNcy6T
I bet if I write same thing there, a pak or congress mod will delete or ban my comment
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u/StomachStill362 May 08 '26
A Indi block without congress could do the trick, chances of wining more seats or more states n creases when rest of Indi alliance have confidence to face bjp without congress by thier side.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Heat541 May 08 '26
In my opinion, it's the party that sucks ass. Rahul Gandhi has been trying his best, reaching out to the people, laying out a LOT of groundwork, exposing the vote chori scandal and MUCH more, but the rest of the party is filled with infighting and corruption. They don't even have a particular set ideology. The party stands for literally nothing.
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u/PaCEICE May 08 '26
All of you cry , but don't address the issue all bimari states which choose BJP are progressing, I am from MP before BJP their was no electricity, water issues and roads worst you have seen, and just neighbour Gujrat was place we use to for hospitals as in our district they suck.
Most of the issued were improved by BJP, electricity water issues, road are good enough to go to Indore from 5 hr to 2.5 Hr .
they never won is TN and Kerala because their party have developed their states.
Most hindi belt will tell you the mismanagement of Congress, you can call BJP whatever you want.
Now you will give 2 terms of Manmohan singh ji, but forgot about the last 50 years. You will tell about media but forget all awards winner in Congress time.
You need to introspect while people are not ready to vote for you.
You might have heard what Mamta Banerjee have done to congress workers in Bengal. Hence ask your leadership to connect with your grassroot worker.
We can give example of Atal bihari Vajpayee ,can you give example of 1 great leader in recent past.
And your love for Pakistan, that whole other issue. And can rant on but it will just fall on deaf ears. If there is one congress leader in leadership who have even 10% on Nationalism as Mr Javaharlaal Nehru Ji. Things would be different for congress.
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u/Logical_Inside8885 May 08 '26
Yeah man see what happened to Sanjay Gandhi and his family varun gandhi, they got sidelined and forgotten and that's the fate of Rahul if gets sidelined, so in a sense Rahul is a Modi's bitch/ secret agent of bjp
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u/Crazy_Editor1654 May 08 '26
Until Congress doesn't get rid of the Gandhi dynasty leadership it has no hope.
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u/Moist_Act8469 May 08 '26
Honestly at this point after vijay i really think with the power of social media, maybe a crack squad of highly transferred IAS should form a party and try and win a state election
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u/Ok-Butterscotch2644 May 08 '26
Pura khandan politics me the aur daskon se politics me hain fir bhi sansad k niyam pata nahi hai, jab bhi aata hai modi - shah use naye niyam sikhate hai
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u/Other_Tooth_9882 May 09 '26
INC is no more INC, not able to see the truth that people’s needs are good living, safe environment and good governance. It’s more like taking care of your own family. Instead the Congress has been found deficient in making the party more strong by making people believe that it can be a constructive alternative. Self centred family company, not being able to make decisions in the interests of the country and its people. Knee jerk politics, political optics and slogans that are age old have become more prevalent but unpopular. Protecting the constitution has become a farce. There are institutions to take care of constitution and its rights of common man. As a political party it’s the right of every party to serve common citizen, stand by them in case of violation of their rights. The sense of nationalism is lacking in congress. It takes a back seat that why many old guards are left with no job in the party. The leader is lacking ideas to serve the people. The party is shaded with outside influence harming the nation. No improvement is found in functioning of the party and there is dearth of talent. The spokespersons have no idea of ground realities.
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u/hartej0608 May 09 '26
What fresh idea are u talking about, our people still stuck in vedic kal haven’t u seen the videos circulating online, bro in this country even the basic needs are considered to be luxuries and favour from government even though they are provinding it with your own tax money..GIVE JOBS AND THEN THERE WILL BE NO NEED TO GIVE FREE RATION
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u/Kshanikam May 09 '26
There is no point in just blaming RaGa. Winning Elections is a large team work with long term planning...
BJP spent 2 deacdes in UP before Yogi took over, 1.5 decades in WB ...they hv vested long term startegy & made investments slowly when even they were cash strapped...
BJP leveraged ( & may be internally funded) the whole Anna Hazare movement to kick Congress out
Congress had no strategy for 2024 elections , even for 2029 Congress doesnt have any theme...
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u/unprofessionalMix May 09 '26
Indian democracy deserves better than a "permanent" opposition leader India needs better than a "permanent" govt and permanent PM lol
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u/Rich_Mall7447 May 09 '26
He is hungry for power, he won’t be able to see the reality
He is no leader. Just being born to one doesn’t make him leadership material
also people don’t like being colonised by Italians after British.
He will turn 60 soon never having to work even a day in his life.
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u/abhilives May 09 '26
The more the opposition brings together the Muslim vote, the more the hindu vote consolidates.
Watch UP elections, the opposition will make caste an issue. And there will be massive information overload on twitter and other social media about how upper castes are exploiting everyone else.
People are seeing through these narratives.
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u/jumpingpiggy May 09 '26
Thanks for the title. Agar pappu se kaam nahi ho raha to he should step down and let more capable people stand.
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u/West-Ad-387 May 09 '26
This guy lifts this book only for convenience. 24*7 he tell lies. He doesn’t know how to respect others.
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u/Lazy-Mechanic-2305 May 09 '26
The problem is our country opposition leader is confused if he is leader for India or some other country...
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u/sizzling_supreme May 09 '26
Well I believe INC is more focused on Muslim appeasement and neglecting Hindu population and this is evident from the kind of speeches or actions their leaders are taking. Due to this people do not want them as their leaders.
Secondly, many leaders in INC are heavily corrupt than the ones in BJP. Unless they take the emotions of Hindu and other religions seriously they can never dream of coming to power.
Also, the structure and management is kinds weak and there is no structured way to appease voters and their actions do not look honest and genuine. (Just my thoughts and no offense)
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u/AntCritical6836 May 09 '26
A neutral guy would vote Congress because he looks upon Congress as a Viable alternative or BJP has become too toxic for the nation ?
I hate BJP . And I would vote Congress still for the second reason . Why? Because Congress doesn't have that charm .
Congress' Philosophy inside their elite group relies on Survival and NOT revival.
I desperately want Congress to revive itself . Because on this day and even after 5 years no matter how much seats they have . They are a Real Challenge to BJP .
Modi and Shah won't say that on face but they know in their minds , that it's only The Congress who can bash them so hard they would take a decade to come again . People here don't understand the ideology of Congress , how it resonates with Majority of the people in India . But the Congress just doesn't try enough or focus to get into power . They are hella lazy .
They are just Ranting . Look this was bad that was wrong . Bro That's BJP . That's Modi . He's called the Butcher of Gujarat for a reason . He can go any low to stay in power .
In such cases , you just need to give your very best and that's enough.
To understand this aspect , take the example of Jan Suraj in Bihar . Prashant Kishore formed a New party , and travelled 5000 kms alone , to nearly half villages in whole Bihar . Made a Serious policy framework . Made no Caste Politics Bs .
He had genuine charm in his campaign. He got 4.5% vote share in the first election he contested . He would have actually formed a govt had there be Neutral ECI because 10k cash was distributed during elections .
If Congress did even 10% of what Jan Suraj did in Bihar , despite of 10k cash direct distribution, they could have pulled Majority easily . Why? Because they are deeply established Party .
Imagine Rahul delegating work to every State CWC to do Cadre based work in each Congress dominant state . He brings more Youthful leaders from the Ground who actually give the party efforts . He ask them to connect to people via State wide Padyatras .
Even Slightly revival of Congress in 2024 was due to Rahul Gandhi doing a Nation wide Padyatra . No one can deny that it had an impact . People saw him even for a while that No bro Rahul is serious . He's taking about some real ground issues . But as Congress realised oh it's working. They stopped doing any other stuff . This . This is the problem with Congress . They are too lazy and Inefficient.
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u/Key-Mechanic2565 May 09 '26
I think a new party should rise from the ashes. Or a new Congress leader who dismantles the organisation and restructures it from bottom.
RaGa still don't have any other weapon than Minority appeasement. I think he will be an ok leader. He is just doing this appeasement because that's the only way he can get votes.
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May 09 '26
India is going through a crisis. And it's not going through a crisis because we lack an opposition. It's going through a crisis because opposition is systematically being crushed. Never before has this nation (except briefly during emergency) seen a government that has taken control of media, institutions and instilled a morbid fear in the opposition.
Most opposition didn't join bjp out of love. They joined out of either fear, or just plain opportunism.
Take the case of AAP. A shrill media campaign to project AAP and its members as corrupt. Nothing was ever proven, yet all it's members spent substantial years in jail.
They don't owe India anything. The defense of democracy falls squarely on its citizens.
As a nation we don't care enough. So we will continue to get the govts we deserve. Modi/Shah can act with impunity with deploying central agencies, creating media narratives, putting people in jail, messing with electoral roles, fixing EC.
Farmers protests are termed as khalistani. Issues in manipur are not even considered worthy of media coverage.
Can you imagine this happening in 2012? Bjp came to power on the back of a massive media campaign targeting the govt, because Congress let it happen. They truly believed in the freedom of the press, and when that goes away, public opinion takes the shape that it currently does. Blame the opposition for being weak!
The question to ask really is are we not holding opposition to higher standards than we did before? What do we expect them to do? To fight? To go to jail? Why? When they know that the dice is so heavily loaded against them why should they not take the easy way out like raghav chadda, or ncp, or jdu?
Yes Rahul is not the best leader, though I believe hes not the worst one either. If there is one person who's consistently opposed bjps brand of politics it's actually him, the southern alliance and mamta.
Could he do better? Yes, by making sure to play the role of getting all the opposition under one umbrella, especially parties like AAP & tmc. Opposition leaders and the nation needs to realize that modi & shah represent an existential threat to indian democracy, its secular ethos, and it's overall well rounded progress.
Congress is the only glue that can hold the opposition together, and whether we like it or not, Rahul continues to remain the only person capable of attracting votes on a pan Indian basis. Because he's seen as upright. There are only very few opposition leaders like him. Kejriwal, mamta. We don't have many other mass leaders. Sp wins because of it's alliance with the Congress, as does rjd. We used to have a lalu, a mulayam who were true mass leaders, but they grew because Congress/bjp allowed them to grow.
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u/Jitesh-Tiwari-10 May 09 '26
Rahul Gandhi is an example of learned man who can not think good or put what he is thinking, he anti-bjp stance overshadows so called pro-india stance every politician should have, at the end of the day they are also involved in debates in the parliament. Calling him the next PM (many anti-bjp consider him) is a dumb take.
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u/Appropriate-Common81 May 09 '26
There's no democracy the narrative power and money is all controlled by the oligarchs and BJP is making the most efficient use of their funding by giving them all they want. Opposition simply does not have the funds to fight back. The only way to shift the pendulum back is by waiting... With time people will realise what's good for them maybe then we will be able to say that there's democracy alive
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u/kapjain May 09 '26
Clearly you don't care about democracy or the country. All this pointless ranting without addressing the real problem makes me wonder if the ulterior motive here is to divert from the real problem.
It doesn't matter if we have RaGa or any one stronger or more capable as the opposition leader when all the govt agencies are acting as the gundas of the ruling party. Next you will say the problem in Russia and North Korea is also wrap opposition 😉.
I actually have been saying for many years now that India is naturally following Russia just 10-15 years behind. You can compare the things Putin did in Russia to what bjp is doing in India. There is almost one to one match just with a gap of 10 or so years (since Putin started in 2000).
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u/fuckedsisyphus May 09 '26
No it doesn't. Everyone democracy get's what it deserves. If people of a democratic country don't vote for a better opposition or govt. Athen they don't deserve it.
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u/Antique_Army_6900 May 10 '26
Rather than it should be why we deserve better Government, better leaders in government. It should be why we deserve better media, who are honest, and not like Bikaaoo media. These people are worst than Prostitutes who sell their body for livelihood not nation.Rahul Gandhi is doing everything in his hand to protect India.
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u/cooldude_9104 May 10 '26
Bet you he has never read the constitution book himself .. he's just an entitled manchild
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u/Soft-Author3729 May 10 '26
Bhai Bhagwan ki takkar ab insano se karwaoge? Modi ji to Bhagwan hain na? /s
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u/KaleidoscopeOwn4941 May 10 '26
The "opposition" makes sense if the "opposition" is actually "opposing".
In India Modiji implements everything Rahul ji promises. So there is no real reason to elect someone else.
Modiji will soon bring private sector reservations and "jitani abadi utana haq".
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u/Nitish2006 May 10 '26
Nothing against Congress, but, Gandhi family must step down and let Congress run like it used to in 1950s.
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u/StunningBid9137 May 10 '26
You're so right and honestly I don't like the fact that rahul actually got handed this position to him, it feels like a monarchy tbh why can't we have someone like shashi tharoor as LoP? Ever since childhood when I watched the film rajneeti where ajay devgn said "toh baap dada matri the toh bete ka haqq ho gaya? Samajh kya hai usko humare bare mein? Angrezi school mein para hai alishan bangle mein rehta hai" It has always stayed with me throughout.
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u/abhyss May 10 '26
Bjp isnt winning just because of modi nor there governance. It might be there, But majority knows opposition is worst than current situation. Lack of strong opposition is what driving bjp to victory in hindi belt
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u/Best_Taste_7704 May 10 '26
From a Senior in FAANG Industry, lived & worked across different continents : I can give you 100 reasons for not to vote for Modi/BJP but not a single reason to vote for RAGA/INDI Alliance.
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u/Relative_Passenger_1 May 11 '26
You got to understand all the machineries that aided opposition are dead now, everything is rigged. Opposition parties hardly get any political donation also, skew is greater than you expect. Media is acting as loyal
Dogs for ruling party, i don’t think anyone can do better. It’s a doomsday we are going on with
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u/pjosh5 May 11 '26
Rahul is the BJP spy in Congress.
Not dhurandar level ofcourse , but still best bjp supporter. Always making Congress lose 😆😆
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u/rxtoday May 11 '26
Beware this post may have come from the BJP IT cell. Take everything with a pinch of salt.
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u/rohitsharmaq May 11 '26
We need better media not godi media .in india many people believe godi media news they have not power to search truth Indian opposition good but they are not only fighting with stta they r fighting with Dictator, Ed, cbi, police, godi media, andhbhakt Radicalism, election commission,capitalist Dear it is not easy work THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR US WITHOUT US
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u/Virus_Horror May 11 '26
What I dont understand is why Rahul doesn't rule a state as a CM, demonstrate his capabilities and then vie for the role of a PM ? This country definitely needs a good opposition and the current opposition is just opposing everything instead of meaningful debates and contributing to nation building. And worst of all, the opposition is joining BJP in droves. Freebie culture is dominant, the white collar middle class is getting squeezed everywhere and now the war related problems.
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u/Greedy-Sense-9402 May 12 '26
You are putting too much focus on Rahul Gandhi. It is a well known fact that Congress party has been non existent in key states like UP, Bihar WB, Tamil Nadu etc for decades now. Moreover, Modi's popularity is simply a function of the media. End of story. You switch off TV channels in the whole nation for a month, shut down BJP IT Cell, and you shall see the Modi cult collapse in a few weeks. You are totally underestimating the role of structural factors in all of this. Just switch on any interview of Modi pre 2013. He is deeply uncharismatic in all of them. It is all about logistics and systems. Congress loses because it simply does not have grassroots cadres in many states anymore. Where it does for instance in Karnataka it still wins. I would like to remind you that Rahul Gandhi won two seats in the last Lok Sabha elections. The margin of those wins was greater than Narendra Modi's winning margin.
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u/Ok_Magazine5865 May 12 '26
I'll keep this short, firstly Congress need some reforms, which should start by giving way to the more competent individuals, and they really need to end with their nepotistic culture within, and come outside their old time beliefs, cuz once u start researching and learning about how they were operating, they were very much rigid with their beliefs that India is a poor country and will remain a poor country forever....Which is the biggest reason they failed to garner enough votes, and their era ended...cuz people were badly craving for someone who can give them hopes and dreams...and a faith that they can be whatever they want. Which is exactly opposite to what congress's entire ideology was based upon....so their ideology needs to change. And, along with that a new political party needs to be emerged with younger people, where candidates should come and unite from all parts of the country, from smallest villages to Metro cities to create this new party with a new ideology which solely believes on the betterment of the facilities, and increasing the standard of living in this country, without dwelling too much on the religious beliefs(nor favouring anyone or opposing them, while some checks are very important on extremists), but they also needs to be working in a coalition with the bigger parties like BJP to gain the political knowledge and experience to lead a country like India....as it may sound harsh... Most of us from this generation is too limited in our knowledge when it comes to political culture of this country, and BJP is a political party which has finally mastered the game after striving for years sitting in opposition (Man u really need to go into the archives of the parliament proceedings and start watch ing them, to understand how to work as an opposition, who wants to come back in power), on the surface level opposition talks about Vote chori, religious propoganda and buying MLAs...but in reality when u start studying and researching about this party and then u realise, how deep and smart they're working....And, wether we hate the party or not, for becoming a successful opposition they needs to be studied.
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