Cong to get 200-plus seats, says Rahul, dubs poll surveys as 'jokes'

Rubbishing as “joke” poll surveys projecting 100 seats for Congress in Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party will get 200-plus seats and there is no question of Narendra Modi and BJP coming to power.

Holding a 'Google Hangout' with party workers, the first such interaction by any Congress leader, Gandhi also took a jibe at the main opposition party over reports of an internal war within BJP over candidatures of senior leaders including Modi.

"The talk of 100 seats is a joke and you have to understand that... the entire campaign of the opposition is to demoralise you. If you are not demoralised, we shall smash them.

"If you do not have a doubt in your mind, we are getting 200-plus seats. The entire game is to demoralise Congress workers, to create doubts in their mind," Gandhi said replying to a question on what would Congress do after polls if it gets about 100 seats.

To a query as to how Congress should fight communal forces if Modi and his party come to power, Gandhi said "we are going to win the next election. Therefore, BJP coming to power, their leader coming to power is a non-question."

"First of all, we fought in 2004. Every single opinion poll had said we are going to get thrashed. Congress had won that election. In 2009, every single opining poll said we are going to get thrashed. We doubled our tally.

"We are now fighting a third election. They always say Congress will not do well. Let us not start with the assumption that opinion polls are the law. We have to fight a strong election," Gandhi said seeking to dispel the notion that Congress is out and down and enthused the cadres to go out in the field and propagate UPA government's achievements.

Asking the partymen from different parts of the country "not to fall in the opposition trap", Gandhi described BJP as a "conservative" party, which believes in status quoism.

"If you look at our opposition, every single candidate is decided by one man. Their senior leaders are saying that every single candidate is decided by one man. They are heading in one direction and we are heading into an entirely another direction," Gandhi said extolling his and Congress' initiative of holding primaries to select candidates.

Image: Congress Vice president Rahul Gandhi speaks to villagers