Historian Ramachandra Guha said on Friday that Kerala did a disastrous thing by electing a ‘fifth-generation dynast’ Rahul Gandhi to Parliament and he has no chance in Indian politics against a “hard-working and self-made” PM Narendra Modi.
“I have nothing against Rahul Gandhi personally. He is a decent fellow, very well-mannered. But young India does not want a fifth-generation dynast. If you Malayalees make the mistake of re-electing Rahul Gandhi in 2024 too, you are merely handing over an advantage to Narendra Modi,” said Guha in Kozhikode on the second day of the ongoing Kerala Literature Festival (KLF).
Guha said the reduction of the Congress from a “great party” during the freedom movement to a “pathetic family firm” now is one of the reasons for the ascendency of Hindutva and jingoism in India.
In the 2019 general elections, Gandhi lost from his family bastion of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and won from the Wayanad seat in Kerala.
ALSO READ: Delhi Police Commissioner given detention powers under National Security Act
“Narendra Modi’s great advantage is that he is not Rahul Gandhi. He is self-made. He has run a state for 15 years, he has administrative experience, he is incredibly hard-working and he never takes holidays in Europe. Believe me, I am saying all this in all seriousness,” he said.
Guha further said that even if Rahul Gandhi was much more intelligent, more hard-working, never took a holiday in Europe, as a fifth-generation dynast he still will be at a disadvantage against a self-made person.
Guha has been critical of BJP and PM Modi in the past. He was detained in December last year during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).