Raipur: Senior Congress leader and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said that Congress wants Rahul Gandhi to be the Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections indicating that the party is hopeful that other opposition parties will accept Rahul's candidature. He was speaking to reporters at the Plenary Session of the Congress in Raipur.
Asked whether other Opposition parties will accept Rahul as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the united opposition, Baghel said that change will come with time. Referring to the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Chief Minister asked how Rahul Gandhi was referred to before the yatra and how things changed after the yatra concluded. "Things will change with time. See how they used to speak about Rahul Gandhi before the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the country is witnessing how things have changed after the yatra has concluded," said Baghel.
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Demanding that the 2024 Lok Sabha election should be conducted with ballot papers as people have lost their faith in EVMs, Baghel said that the ruling BJP will not agree to it. However, he did not directly name the saffron party. "People can see what is there and what is not there in a ballot box. But that is not the case with the EVM. That's why we want the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to be conducted with ballot papers," said Baghel.
Asked whether he will rise up the party ranks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Baghel said that the party will take a call on it adding that he has been diligently carrying out the tasks assigned to him by the Congress leadership. Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge admitted that the party is currently battling with several issues and those can be overcome with unity, determination, and discipline. " We are facing several challenges today. But all of them can be dealt with through discipline, unity, and determination. Our strength lies in our party," said Kharge.
