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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has expressed confidence in the ability of a united opposition to oust the BJP from power in next year's Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to reporters at the National Press Club in Washington, US, he said that I think the Congress party will do very well in the next general election, the results will surprise the people. Just calculate, a united opposition will defeat the BJP on its own. Gandhi said the Lok Sabha elections are less than a year away and the Congress is holding regular talks with other opposition parties.

"The opposition is very well united. We are in talks with all opposition parties. I think a lot of good work is going on there. It is a complex discussion because there are many states where we are competing with those parties. But I am confident that there will be a grand alliance of the opposition."

Rahul Gandhi also accused the central government of "taking over" constitutional institutions.

"BJP can be defeated if..."

The Congress leader said when he joined politics, he did not even think that he would ever be disqualified from the Lok Sabha membership, but it has given him a great opportunity to serve the people.

"I think this dramatic development actually started about six months ago. We were struggling. The entire opposition is struggling in India. All the money is with some people. Institutions have been taken over. We are struggling to fight the democratic battle in our country."

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Rahul Gandhi also said that he is not worried about the threats to his life and that cannot be a reason to back down. "I am not worried about death threats. Everyone has to die. That's what I learnt from my grandmother and father. You don't back down for something like that."

Rahul Gandhi's grandmother Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards in 1984, while her father Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide attack in 1991. Both were former prime ministers.

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