New Delhi, Oct 27: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said it was his promise to every working poor and middle class person in India that he would bring back the smile on their faces.

Gandhi posted a video on his WhatsApp channel in which the barber the former Congress chief had interacted with at his shop in Delhi's Uttam Nagar is seen being taken to a shop to buy the essential items needed for his shop.

Gandhi had arranged for all the essentials needed by Ajit, the barber, to be made available to him.

"I have a promise to every working poor and middle class person of India that I will bring back the smile on their faces," Gandhi said in his post alongside the video.

In the video, the barber thanks Gandhi for making all the things needed for his shop available to him.

Gandhi said on Friday that hard-working poor people had been robbed of their dreams due to falling incomes and rising inflation, and new schemes were needed that would allow them to take home savings.

He had made the remarks after he interacted with the barber.

Gandhi had shared on X the video of his visit to the barber shop in Uttam Nagar's Prajapat Colony. He was seen in the clip enquiring about the barber's problems while getting his beard trimmed.

Since his Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Manipur-to-Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi has been interacting with a cross-section of people from mechanics and cobblers to labourers and bus drivers.

He often posts videos of his interactions and highlights the plight of various sections of society.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.

In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.

Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.

Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.

According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.

He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.

He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.

Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.

He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.

Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.

He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.