Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has the quality to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, but the Opposition parties will decide on a common face together, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Wednesday, according to PTI.

Gehlot told the news agency that Gandhi’s image has been tarnished through the misuse of social media. However, the public has not understood, he added.

Gehlot said that there are a lot of demands for Gandhi to campaign in poll-bound Gujarat. “He may or may not go, but the issues he is talking about are the issues of the people,” he said.

Gandhi is currently leading the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which the Congress says is a march to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s politics of hatred. The march is currently in Maharashtra.

To a question on why the Wayanad MP is not campaigning for Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, Gehlot said: “Rahul Gandhi is not able to go to many states because there is a route for his journey.”

The chief minister said that the purpose of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is to highlight the themes of brotherhood, inflation and unemployment. “His message is reaching every door,” he said.

Gehlot said that the Congress will perform well in Gujarat, and accused the Aam Aadmi Party of misleading citizens, according to PTI. “It has captured the media,” he said. “There is nothing other than this.”

Elections in Himachal Pradesh will take place on November 12. Polls in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and December 5.

The results for both states will be declared on December 8.