Will win Gujarat polls, AAP only in air, nothing on ground: Rahul Gandhi

Kothur (Telangana): The Congress has a "solid base" in Gujarat and will win the upcoming assembly polls, former party chief Rahul Gandhi said on Monday, contending that there is "massive" anti-incumbency against the BJP while the AAP is "only in the air" with no support on the ground.

Addressing a press conference here during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi said the march is ''not a magic wand'' but a good first step to connect with the people.

He also ruled out any alliance with the TRS, saying it is "diametrically opposite" to what the Congress stands for.

Dismissing the challenge posed by Aam Aadmi Party in Gujarat, Gandhi said the Congress has a solid base in the state.

"Congress is fighting the Gujarat elections effectively and the Congress will win the polls. AAP is only in the air. It has nothing on the ground," he told reporters here to questions on his party's prospects in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state.       "There is massive anti-incumbency. The media has created a buzz based on the advertisements given by AAP. The Congress party is a solid party in Gujarat. The Congress is going to win the election there," he said.

On when and where he will campaign in the poll-bound states of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, Gandhi said, "Kharge Ji is the president of the party and he will decide how I am to be utilised."

In the 2017 Gujarat assembly polls, the Congress had put up a spirited fight and bagged 77 seats to the BJP's 99. However, there have been several defections from the Congress post-2017 and their current tally in the assembly stands at 62, while the BJP's tally has risen to 111.

Many political observers feel that the Congress is on a weak footing this time and with the Aam Aadmi Party being a contender this time, it would be a triangular contest that could dent the Congress' chances.

On a question about the tragedy in Morbi where a bridge collapsed leaving more than 130 dead, Gandhi said he did not wish to politicise the incident.

"I don't want to politicise this incident. People have died here. It is disrespectful for them to politicise this incident, so I am not going to do it," Gandhi said. A two-minute silence was held in memory of those killed in the tragic accident.

Asked about his remarks at the Udaipur Chintan Shivir that the Congress' connection with the people has been broken and how far he has been able to reestablish it with the Yatra, Gandhi insisted that he had stated that the connection of the Congress Party with the people has "weakened".

"The connect of the Congress party with the people has not broken in any way, but it has weakened. This is a good first step in connecting with the people, it is not a magic wand...The Congress party is an idea. It stands for a certain vision of India... but I think, there is a lot of work that has to be done," Gandhi added.

On a question about the OBC census, Gandhi said as far as the OBC census is concerned, it is the Congress that came up with the idea and did the census. "I am very clear, I have absolutely no question in my mind, the OBC census needs to be made public. People need to understand the makeup of India's population," he asserted. The former Congress chief said the fight in India today is between two ideologies  -- one that is seeking to divide the nation and the other that wants to bring the nation together.

"The line is very clear. I feel, and the Congress party feels, that it is very important that the Opposition works together harmoniously to defeat the ideology of the RSS and the BJP," Gandhi said.

On the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), he said there is absolutely no possibility of any relationship between the TRS and the Congress.

"The corruption, the approach, the attitude of the TRS is not acceptable to us. We are diametrically opposed to what they are doing," he said.

Responding to a question, Gandhi said a lot of damage has been done to the institutional framework of the country under the current government.

"There has been a systematic attack on different institutions, how the press is controlled, pressured, threatened, many journalists have walked with me and they have been telling me," he claimed.

When the Congress comes back to power, it is going to make sure that these institutions are once again freed from the grasp of the RSS and a certain independence is maintained in these institutions, he said.

"With regards to the massive concentration of capital, if you look at what is happening to small and medium businesses in the country, what is happening to the job creation structure of this country, essentially it has been destroyed and today India is unable to produce jobs.

"A huge part of the reason is that there is a massive concentration of power. Both the BJP government at the Centre and the TRS government here in Telangana are doing this," he said.

Referring to the recently-concluded Congress presidential polls in which Mallikarjun Kharge beat Shashi Tharoor to take charge as party president, Gandhi said the Congress has demonstrated that it is a democratic party by electing its president.

"It is interesting to me that the press always asks about the election and democracy in the Congress, but never dares to ask about democracy in the TRS, RSS or the BJP," he said.