Who’s Rahul Gandhi’s favourite BJP politician? Cong leader reveals in Instagram ‘Ask Me Anything’ with Gen Z

Who is Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s favourite politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)? The Leader of Opposition (LoP) faced this question during ‘Ask me Anything’ on Instagram on Thursday.

Gandhi shared 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 the NEET paper leak controversy.

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.

Reflecting on his cordial ties with the former Punjab CM, Gandhi 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.

Definitely, Captain Amarinder Singh. I get along with him. He is cool.

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”.