Pune: Chandrashekhar Bawankule Celebrates BJP’s Victory in Delhi Elections; Challenges Rahul Gandhi to Run Against Him

Pimpri Chinchwad, 8th February 2025: Maharashtra State President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Revenue Minister of Maharashtra Chandrashekhar Bawankule celebrated the party’s victory in the Delhi Elections and issued a direct challenge to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a media interaction in Sangvi, Pimpri Chinchwad.

Bawankule attributed the Delhi win to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, stating, “Delhi Elections result is a victory of PM Narendra Modi’s leadership. The people of the nation have accepted that a Double Engine Sarkar can do development.” He emphasized the growing influence of BJP across India, adding, “75% of the nation is ruled by BJP government due to people seeing development under PM Modi’s leadership.”

The BJP leader hailed the Delhi victory as a historic moment, saying, “This is a historic victory after 27 years. BJP’s CM will be on Delhi’s throne.” He expressed confidence in the party’s ability to meet public expectations, stating, “BJP will complete the expectations through which people hoped not only in Maharashtra but also in Delhi. The resolution letter we have given to people, on that they voted for us.”

Addressing potential allegations of EVM tampering by the opposition, Bawankule dismissed such claims: “Congress will come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow and will say Delhi EVM Machine was hacked.” He attributed Congress’s loss to their own shortcomings, asserting, “Congress lost due to their own deeds. Congress never chose the path of public development.”

In a surprising turn, Bawankule directly challenged Rahul Gandhi regarding recent comments about the Kamthi constituency. “A couple of days ago, they took objections on Kamthi Constituency. Rahul Gandhi doesn’t understand; he should study Kamthi constituency,” Bawankule said. He then issued a bold challenge: “My challenge is for Rahul Gandhi that he should fight against me in 2029 from Kamthi. I continuously got elected in Kamthi and for the past 5 times, BJP is winning. I challenge Rahul Gandhi to compete against me in 2029, and I’ll defeat him.”

This challenge arises in the context of Rahul Gandhi’s recent statement about the Maharashtra elections, where he claimed that more votes were cast than the total adult population in the state. He cited the Kamthi constituency in Nagpur district as an example, stating that the number of new voters was equivalent to the BJP’s winning margin.

Turning to local matters, Bawankule addressed the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra. He stated, “The local bodies elections can happen in March, April, or May.” However, he noted that the timing depends on a crucial factor: “The Supreme Court if they give us a verdict on OBC reservation this month, we will take local units in confidence and decide how to contest elections.”