Ridiculed for a decade, India's Rahul Gandhi slows Modi juggernaut

Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader of India's main opposition Congress party, holds a press conference at the party's headquarter in New Delhi, India, June 4, 2024. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, mocked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his supporters for a decade as an entitled dynast, marked a stunning comeback on Tuesday, emerging at the centre of an alliance that made deep inroads into ruling party strongholds.

The scion of India's fabled Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, he embarked on two cross-country marches against what he called Modi's politics of hate and fear, giving a jolt of enthusiasm to his Congress party and rehabilitating his own image.