NEW DELHI: Still smarting from the shock defeat in Haryana, the near-wipeout in Maharashtra proved to be yet another punch for the Congress, which is struggling to keep afloat as a national force. While the resounding victory of the MahaYuti reinforced the BJP’s dominance in the political landscape, the Congress again failed to lead a united fight against the saffron force.
Though Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the party would analyse the “unexpected” Maharashtra results in detail, questions are being raised about its failure to adopt a coherent strategy and narrative.
Observers attribute the disappointing performance of the party to Gandhi’s focus on caste census and caste-based reservation, which failed to resonate with the electorates in Haryana and J&K. In Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the Congress was on a sticky wicket during seat talks with allies after losing Haryana to the BJP for the third straight time.
Observers say that losing a big state like Maharashtra after Haryana is likely to weaken the party’s bargaining power in an era of coalition politics.
While the INDIA bloc registered an impressive victory in Jharkhand, the credit mostly went to Hemant Soren-led JMM which ran a spirited campaign. It will only add to the criticism that the grand old party plays second fiddle to strong regional players and it fails to grow in states where it faces the BJP. With the poor show in Maharashtra, the Congress strength in the Lok Sabha got reduced to 98 seats after it lost Nanded in the bypoll. With the defeat, the MVA stood to lose Rajya Sabha seats from the state.
The Congress which contested the highest number of seats among MVA allies, was winning or leading in only 16 seats with one of the lowest strike rates of 16%. The party also faced criticism for its limited campaigns in Maharashtra while its senior leaders invested more time in Wayanad, where Priyanka Gandhi made her electoral debut.
Rahul Gandhi will now be under pressure from within the INDIA grouping. Several alliance partners, including Uddhav Thackeray, Arvind Kejriwal and Omar Abdullah, have questioned the Congress for its Haryana defeat.
However, the Congress put up a brave face on Saturday asserting that its defeat in Maharashtra is part of a “targeted conspiracy” against the party. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that it would stick to its narrative of Adani case, Manipur violence, weakening rupee and demand for a nationwide caste census and removal of 50% cap on reservation.
Bumpy road ahead for INDIA bloc
Knives are already out as INDIA allies raising questions on the performance of Congress, which is leading the bloc. CPI general secretary D Raja said that serious introspection by the INDIA bloc constituents is the need of the hour. CPM’s Ashok Dhawale flagged the delay in finalising seat deal, not giving enough space to smaller parties among the reasons for the bloc’s poor show.