Shah predicts Congress defeat in 2029, disputes SIR criticism

Amit Shah on Tuesday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, arguing that it could not explain the party’s earlier election defeats and predicting Congress would lose the 2029 Lok Sabha election. The Union home minister said the revision began after the 2024 general election, while Congress had suffered setbacks before then. He urged Gandhi and the party to examine their electoral record rather than blame the process. Shah predicted the National Democratic Alliance would win a large majority in 2029 and said Congress was headed for a fourth consecutive defeat. Those comments were predictions, not verified election outcomes. Shah made the remarks after the Bharatiya Janata Party won 90 of 104 seats across three urban local bodies in Gujarat, according to figures he cited. In the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, the BJP won 38 of 44 seats. Shah said the party’s vote share there rose by 10 percentage points from the previous election. He also said Congress had not won an election in Gujarat since 1985.