I may become PM if congress wins 2019 Lok Sabha polls: Rahul Gandhi

Bengaluru: AICC President Rahul Gandhi today said that the BJP is unlikely to form the next government at the Centre and indicated that in the event of Congress coming back to power he could be the next Prime Minister.

Speaking at 'Samruddha Bharat' an independent platform to promote liberal, secular and republican values, he said if opposition led by Congress join hands in the next Lok Sabha election in 2019 BJP will be wiped out. ''Besides, it is next to impossible that Mr Narendra Modi can become Prime Minister again. It is already showing on his face,'' he said.

Mr Gandhi said Congress would obviously lead the united opposition as it was the only force that can take on BJP and RSS. ''Congress will face 2019 elections to dethrone the BJP and it is not a tactical fight but an ideological fight. Will win all States that BJP had swept during the previous Assembly elections,'' he claimed.

He said in the May 12 Assembly election in Karnataka, Congress was ready to challenge the supremacy of BJP and win in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

He then targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP and asked if they couldn't find a non-corrupt CM candidate for Karnataka. "Why has the PM chosen a corrupt CM candidate and why has he given 8 tickets to Reddy brothers who've looted national wealth to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore," he said.

He said election in the southern state was central to what was happening in the country. It was a free society that gave equal opportunity and voice to all sections of the people. But there was forces (BJP-RSS) working against it and its designs will be defeated.He said forces like Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath trigger anger and hatred and this was the reason why BJP cannot in Karnataka.

Hitting out at RSS, he said it was using BJP to capture every single institution in the country and this was the reason why name of Planning Commission was changed to Niti Ayog. ''Now challenge before us is, first we win the 2019 elections, and then cleanse these institutions by taking out these 'elements'. BJP and RSS view elections to capture the states and the nation while Congress fight the elections to run  the country and the State.

He compared RSS to that of Muslim Brotherhood who believed in hypocrisy and violence. Such forces were holding the government in the country. ''These two forces do not see elections like we do. The same thing is happening in Turkey and Egypt where Muslim Brotherhood want to capture power and not win it with people's confidence,'' he added.(UNI)