‘Hello, uncle Amarinder’: Why Rahul Gandhi finds this BJP leader cool
Rahul names former Punjab CM who switched from Congress to BJP in 2022 his favourite BJP leader, while praising his expertise in military history
Turns out Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, despite his ideological clashes with the ruling BJP, has some favourites in the saffron party. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday gave a warm shout-out to the former Punjab chief minister when asked whom he liked in the BJP.
“Captain Amarinder Singh, definitely. I get along with him. He is cool,” Rahul said while answering questions as part of his recently-launched ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on Instagram.
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“He is an expert on military history. Hello, uncle Amarinder," Rahul said, referring to the 84-year-old politician.
A video of the interaction was posted by the Congress on its X handle.
"Hello, Uncle Amarinder!"
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 6, 2026
LoP Shri @RahulGandhi gives a warm shoutout to his favourite politician from the BJP. pic.twitter.com/kwgQPDZ5SV
Rahul's favourite BJP leader
Singh, hailing from the royal family of the princely state of Patiala and who has worn several hats in his career – a politician, a military historian, and an Indian Army veteran – served as the chief minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007 and from 2017 to 2021.
Also read: How Amarinder Singh went from Punjab’s Captain to Captain Cooked
In 2021, he resigned as the chief minister after being told by the Congress leadership that his party’s MLAs didn’t have confidence in him.
He resigned from the party in October 2021 after Congress named Charanjit Singh Channi as the new chief minister. He formed a new party, the Punjab Lok Congress, but in 2022 merged it with the BJP.
'Ask Me Anything'
Rahul on Thursday (July 6) launched the Ask Me Anything session on Instagram, answering several questions, including one on the student protest in Jharkhand, and asserted that every government should listen to what students are saying.
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Posting a link to his Instagram initiative on X, he said, "Students, Gen-Z -- I'm here to listen. Ask me anything on Instagram, and I'll answer as many questions as I can." The Congress put out video clips of some of the questions he answered.