Gehlot reveals RaGa is Congress's PM candidate for 2024 polls
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In a significant development, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot claimed on Saturday that Rahul Gandhi would be the Congress's prime ministerial candidate for the highly-awaited 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking to the news outlet India Today, the veteran Congress leader added the opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) made this decision after much "deliberations" and "discussions."
Context
Why does this story matter?
Earlier this month, too, Rajasthan CM Gehlot claimed that Gandhi was the only capable candidate in the country who could take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
To note, the INDIA bloc, a political alliance comprising 26 opposition parties led by the Congress, has vowed to unseat the BJP at the Centre in next year's general election.
Details
NDA 'scared' after INDIA's meet in Bengaluru: Gehlot
Highlighting the need for the INDIA alliance, Rajasthan CM Gehlot stated that local factors are at play during every election.
However, the country's current situation has created "immense pressure" on all political parties, resulting in the alliance, he added.
Furthermore, Gehlot also suggested that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was "scared" when the opposition parties met in Bengaluru last month.
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Gehlot credits former PMs for Chandrayaan-3 success
Moreover, Gehlot also spoke on the Chandrayaan-3's successful lunar soft-landing and attributed its victory to former PMs Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
He asserted that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established after Nehru heeded scientist Vikram Sarabhai's suggestions.
The space center's name was also changed to ISRO after the Indira government came to power, he added.
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Know about 'red diary' controversy involving Gehlot
On the other hand, top BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah targeted Gehlot on Saturday over the "red diary" controversy and called for his resignation.
According to The Hindu, former Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudha, a sacked cabinet colleague of Gehlot, has claimed there was a "red diary" that consists of all unaccounted financial transactions of the ruling Congress government in Rajasthan.