Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the party headquarters in New Delhi.
Credit: Reuters Photo
New Delhi: It was staring at political decimation after predictions of doom in exit polls but Congress shrugged off its electoral misfortunes of the past ten years in a stroke when the grand old party along with I.N.D.I.A. allies managed to restrict the ruling BJP to below 250.
In the process, the Congress and the Opposition bloc might not have usurped power but came close to it to the discomfort of the saffron camp’s undisputed leader Narendra Modi, their principal political adversary.
For Congress that faltered in some states but gained in some unexpected places, the results would mean that it has cemented its ‘numero uno’ position in the Opposition ranks and kept any challenges to its hegemony in near future from allies like Trinamool Congress at bay.
More importantly, Congress would be officially eligible to claim the post of Leader of Opposition for the first time after 2014. Also, it is to be seen whether Congress’ campaigner-in-chief Rahul Gandhi will take up this post to lead the anti-BJP bloc’s charge inside Parliament.
The euphoria in Congress camp was visible and the party headquarters wore a festive look despite not winning the government, as the results showed its resurgence, riding on a spirited campaign led by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
Congress tally is close to 100 – almost double from 2019 – and have MPs in 24 states and union territories compared to 18 five years ago though it drew a blank in Madhya Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands where it won last time. The numbers also came despite some seniors refusing to contest.
Shattering the perception that it falters when it comes to direct fight between the BJP, the Congress opened accounts in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Lakshadweep and Manipur after a gap of ten years though Karnataka was a disappointment while Kerala sent a shocker with the BJP managing to win one seat. In Punjab, it came on top of its ally AAP.
For the Congress, the strike rate was higher as it contested the least number of 328 seats in India’s electoral history. While workers were upset about leaving seats for allies, central leadership was clear about the “compromises” to maximise the losses of the BJP.
Also, it gave a stamp to Rahul Gandhi’s focussed campaign against Modi’s politics unlike in 2019 when most Congress leaders deserted him as he moved ahead with the ‘chowkidaar chor hain’ campaign. This time, the party wholeheartedly took over ‘nyay’ and ‘Save Constitution’ campaigns.
While it did not deviate from the ‘nyay’ campaign it designed around social justice targeting youth, women, farmers and labourers, it stuck with the alliance partners like Samajwadi Party and AAP and got benefited by them while returning the favour by ensuring the vote transfer.
The “respect” that Congress gives it to its allies was evident when Rahul told a press conference that they could not give an answer to whether they will stake claim to form government or sit in opposition before talking to their partners.
After a long time, the Congress also saw its campaign catching attention across the country and smartly dispelled detrimental narratives. When Modi tried to pick up on Sam Pitroda’s remarks on inheritance tax, the party was quick to distance.
Rahul gave ample indications of the party’s future campaign plan when he said they have given a “pro-poor, pro-production” agenda for the country.
Learning from its campaign in Karnataka and Telangana, it also did not lose focus as the BJP campaign sought to drag Congress into its narrative around Muslim quota and ‘mangal sutra’, specific instructions went to campaigners to stick to ‘nyay’ agenda.
Congress was also quick to set its narrative around BJP’s ‘400 paar’ slogan suggesting that it was meant to rewrite the Constitution and abolish the quota regime.
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