Who's Rahul Gandhi's favourite BJP politician? Cong leader reveals name in 'Ask Me Anything' with Gen Z
Gandhi revealed the name of his favourite BJP politician during the session on Instagram, part of his broader outreach to Gen Z following the recent students’ protest in Delhi over NEET paper leak controversy.
Who is Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's favourite politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha faced this question during ‘Ask me Anything’ on Instagram on 6 August.
Rahul Gandhi revealed the name of his favourite BJP politician during the session, part of his broader outreach to Gen Z following the recent students’ protest in Delhi over the NEET paper leak controversy which eventually led to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
Rahul Gandhi said that Punjab’s former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is his favourite politician from the BJP. Singh moved to the BJP from the Congress party.
Rahul took many questions from students during the session. And when a student asked him who was his “favourite politician" from the BJP, the Congress MP said, “Definitely, Captain Amarinder Singh. I get along with him. He is cool".
Gandhi explained further. "He’s an expert on military history. So, I like him a lot", he added, referring to the ex-Congressman’s work on several acclaimed books on military history and wars, which he drew from his service during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War and his royal Patiala heritage.
Rahul said he has had cordial ties with the former Punjab CM, and added, “Hello, Uncle Amarinder!"
Who is Captain Amarinder Singh?
Captain Amarinder Singh, 84, is a veteran politician from Punjab who was with Congress earlier.
Amarinder Singh's father, Yadavindra Singh, was the last Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala and a member of the historical Phulkian dynasty.
A former Indian Army officer, Singh has served as the Chief Minister of Punjab twice during Congress governments. Singh left the Congress in 2021 after developing differences with the party’s state leadership.
Subsequently, he formed his own political outfit, the Punjab Lok Congress, but joined the BJP in 2022. Eventually, the Punjab Lok Congress was officially merged with the BJP.
Singh criticised BJP
Many say Rahul Gandhi’s remarks about Amarinder Singh could also be interpreted as an attempt to reach out to the BJP leader ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. But the former Congress leader is perhaps too old to be active in mainstream politics now, others say.
In December last year, Singh has criticised the functioning of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying he was not being consulted by the party, unlike the Congress.
Singh said it was easier to meet the Congress high command than the top leadership of the BJP. Congress, he said, used to consult its leaders and had "a more democratic system".
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.<br><br> Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.<br><br> Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.<br><br> Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.<br><br> Jeelani is a Bachelor's in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
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