'Narendra Modi is clearly rattled'

'The Bharat Jodo Yatra successfully resurrected the Rahul Gandhi brand.'
'There's a critical mass that has built up for the Congress and Mr Modi is feeling the heat on the Adani issue, the raids on the BBC offices, the Opposition getting together.'

Former Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha, who quit the party owing to differences with some of its leaders, bats strongly for the party even as he takes on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra D Modi over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha as a member of Parliament from Kerala's Wayanad.

"Maybe they have already sensed that they will be defeated in Karnataka (which is headed for an assembly election soon) and that might add further tailwind to the Opposition campaign to bring down the BJP in 2024," Jha tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com.

How does the BJP benefit from Rahul Gandhi's disqualification, if at all?

My answer is that the BJP is going to be a massive loser in the process. Forget any gain, I think the BJP have committed hara kiri for two reasons.

One, they united the Opposition, which is in any way gearing up to defeat them in next year's (general) election. This (Rahul Gandhi's disqualification) has only given it further intensity and acceleration to come together.

You can see it in the statements made by Ms Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal.

Secondly, it has galvanised the Congress which was already feeling a lot more upbeat after the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Today, you see a united Opposition that sees a threat to Indian democracy and its future and will probably work double hard to defeat the BJP in 2024.

Apart from the Opposition coming together, do you think Rahul Gandhi's disqualification will backfire on the BJP?

If you look at the history of coalitions in India, they have always had their own independent personality, and yet they have coalesced together.

If you look at UPA I, UPA II or even the coalitions stitched together by (then prime minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee; even Narendra Modi's coalition for 2014...

There have been many instances of disparate Opposition groups coming together and it's fairly understandable that there can be occasional differences in terms of a political decision but ideologically they are on a united platform.

As far as the Congress is concerned, we (they) will be taking up this matter legally. This matter (of disqualification) will be pursued through the sessions' court and the high court.

As (senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu) Singhvi mentioned at his press conference, one is extremely bullish that the decision of the (Surat district) court would be overturned (by the appellate court) and Rahul Gandhi's disqualification will become null and void.

If disqualifying Rahul Gandhi is akin to committing hara kiri, why would the BJP go for it just a year before the general elections?

There is an old saying in India that goes like vinash kale, vipreet buddhi (when the end is near, one's wisdom goes for a toss).

Basically, Mr Modi has felt very cornered after Mr Rahul Gandhi raised the Adani corruption issue (in Parliament and outside it). And then Rahul Gandhi goes to London and they want him to apologise before he speaks in Parliament.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra successfully resurrected the Rahul Gandhi brand. There's a critical mass that has built up for the Congress and Mr Modi is feeling the heat on the Adani issue, the raids on the BBC offices, the Opposition getting together.

I think he (Modi) and his party have underestimated the wisdom of the Indian electorate. They may have won some elections, but in politics you win and that's fine, but you don't win every time.

Mr Modi has singularly failed in addressing the issues of unemployment, inflation, the agrarian economy, (and contributed to) the death of institutions and the brutal campaign against the underprivileged and the minorities. All these things will now become even more centre stage.

The one common issue that has got the entire Opposition on one platform is the demand for a mandatory joint parliamentary committee in the Adani issue to get to the bottom of the truth.

But isn't the BJP successful in stonewalling such a demand by setting a different narrative that puts the Opposition on the back foot over a JPC on Adani issue? Parliament has been stalled for quite some time with the BJP seeking Rahul Gandhi's apology over his alleged remarks made in London.

Frankly speaking, not at all. The JPC is being talked about because of Adani. In fact, every single day the different constituents of the Opposition have been raising their demands for a JPC inside and outsideParliament.

If the BJP thinks that they will try and take any degree of comfort by the Supreme Court committee being set up, the Opposition has already pre-empted that.

Adani today has become a household issue. Every Indian knows about it.

Is Rahul Gandhi's disqualification then a blessing in disguise for the Congress after the Bharat Jodo Yatra?

I can tell you that every individual in India today knows that what is happening is clearly anti-democratic and is symptomatic of an authoritarian government.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi has clearly outlined how the (Congress) handled the case in Surat. Add to this the hurry shown by the BJP in disqualifying him and talks of a Wayanad bypoll.

This clearly shows the BJP is clearly flustered. Narendra Modi is clearly rattled. It appears that they (the BJP and Modi) are deeply uneasy about their own future.

Maybe they have already sensed that they will be defeated in Karnataka (which is headed for an assembly election soon) and that might add further tailwind to the Opposition campaign to bring down the BJP in 2024.

• Part II: 'Rahul's disqualification will mark the beginning of the end of the BJP'