Washed out Congress faces trouble from within and outside

Congress and AAP have something in common now – both rule two states each.

For AAP, it is positive but for the main Opposition party in the country that governed the country as recently as eight years ago besides having a government in several states, it depicts an existential crisis, as the results of the latest edition of Assembly elections poured in.

The Grand Old Party lost Punjab which it ruled and could not defeat the incumbent BJP in Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur where they had a chance. Uttar Pradesh was just an experimental laboratory for the Congress where it failed to improve its previous tally.

Punjab Chief Ministerial face Charanjit Singh Channi, touted as Rahul Gandhi’s masterstroke or game-changer, lost the two seats he contested and Punjab chief Navjot Singh Sidhu finished third, while in Uttarakhand, it is mascot Harish Rawat who could not win his seat.

Also Read: How parties performed in 2022 compared to 2017 in Goa

The results will have a far-reaching impact on the party – its pole position in the Opposition ranks will be under question, detractors of the Gandhis and the central leadership will be emboldened and the organisational elections scheduled for the later part of the year will turn interesting.

This will also strengthen the bargaining power of Congress detractors like Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and K Chandrasekhar Rao in their attempt to usurp the Opposition leadership. Already, there have been questions about the ability of the Congress to lead the Opposition grouping to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.

It is to be seen how traditional Congress supporters like DMK and RJD treat the Sonia Gandhi-led party and how long they can act as a bulwark against the efforts to weaken Congress’ space and clout in the Opposition ranks. Even the Left parties, which have supported the Congress against the BJP, may have to re-think their stand.

Questions will also be raised on the electoral strategy adopted by the leadership, especially Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The results will add to the power of G-23 or changes-seekers led by Ghulam Nabi Azad who had sought clarity on leadership while not being enthusiastic about Rahul Gandhi assuming the central role.

If Rahul already faced criticism over his electoral appeal, Priyanka’s high decibel foray into Uttar Pradesh has also not added much to the party. While the party never dreamt of winning big, it was hoping to improve its tally on the experiments initiated by Priyanka like giving 40 per cent seats to women.

Losing Punjab will have the most direct impact on the Gandhis, as they stood solidly behind Navjot Singh Sidhu to oust Amarinder Singh as Chief Minister just months before the polls. Though Sidhu did not become the replacement, the choice of Channi also did not help the cause.

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The simmering tension was visible as senior leader Sunil Jakhar announced retirement from politics in the midst of campaigning, while Sidhu had been critical of Channi after being sour over being overlooked for the Chief Minister post he coveted the most.

Similarly, Uttarakhand Congress was also a divided house with veteran leader Harish Rawat pushing his way to be the face while the party machinery woke up late in campaigning. Congress will have to do a lot of introspection as to why it lost the plot in ‘Dev Bhumi’ despite the BJP government facing huge anti-incumbency.

The one-upmanship in Goa by rejecting a call for alliance by the Trinamool Congress will also haunt the leadership though it can say that it went by the views of the state unit.

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