Rahul Gandhi’s ‘body language’ as LoP shows that he is ‘in charge’ and ‘willing’ to take on the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, according to Shashi Tharoor, the ex-Congress chief’s colleague in the party and Lok Sabha.

“Certainly since the (Lok Sabha) election results, he (Gandhi) has been busy. He is more accessible to everyone. He is also hands-on as the LoP (Leader of Opposition) and is participating in Parliament quite frequently. He is actively getting involved in everything in a way that has clearly asserted a sense of leadership and confidence. The body language and the way he is functioning are conveying very strongly within the party, to allies and the BJP, that he is in charge and willing to take them (BJP) on,” Tharoor told The Indian Express.

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Congress suffered its third consecutive defeat to the BJP, winning 99 seats while the latter secured 240 seats in the 543-member House. However, the Congress nearly doubled its tally from the previous 2019 general elections (52 seats; 44 in 2014); this also meant that for the first time in 10 years, Parliament’s Lower House will have an official LoP. That post went to Gandhi, the MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli.

Tharoor, meanwhile, pointed to the two Bharat Jodo Yatras as the ‘precursors’ of this ‘change’ in Gandhi.

“I would say that the precursors of the change were the two Bharat Jodo Yatras. That is when he began getting out on the streets. For a year and half before the elections, I would say that the change was already underway,” Tharoor, the MP from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, said.

Tharoor further stated that as the BJP, unlike in its previous two terms, does not have a majority of its own, and with the rise in the opposition’s numbers, it would be ‘difficult’ for the saffron party-led government to pass bills without consulting the opposition.

“We (opposition) are now double the strength we were last time…that makes a difference. The bulldozer has always been a metaphor for the BJP’s style of politics, as well as what they have been doing to people’s homes. Even when the opposition made noise last time, they (government) still passed the bills anyway. That will be difficult now,” the senior Congressman noted.