M A I N   N E W S

Bypoll results a jolt for Congress
BJP wins Tehri in Uttarakhand, Pranab Mukherjee’s son scrapes through in West Bengal’s Jangipur
Anita Katyal
Tribune News Service

Having forced the Congress leadership to nominate his son for the Tehri seat, the Chief Minister had staked his prestige on this election. The election was won by BJP’s Mala Raj Laxmi Shah, who belongs to the erstwhile Tehri royal family that held this seat for eight times.

Lacklustre show For the Congress, the defeat on the Tehri seat was particularly galling as it was contested by Saket Bahuguna, son of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, who vacated it after he took on the top job in Uttarakhand. Congress won the Jangipur seat in West Bengal, but it was unable to savour the victory as Abhijit Mukherjee, Pranab Mukherjee’s son, managed to defeat the CPM candidate by just 2,500-odd votes. Pranab had won the seat by 1.28 lakh votes in 2009.

The Congress managed to win the Jangipur seat in West Bengal, but it was unable to savour the victory as its candidate Abhijit Mukherjee, Pranab Mukherjee’s son, managed to defeat the CPM candidate Muzaffar Hussain by a narrow margin of 2,500-odd votes. This is despite the fact that Trinamool Congress decided not to contest the election although it had withdrawn support to the UPA government. Pranab had won the seat by 1.28 lakh votes in 2009. The result does not auger well for the future as it demonstrates Congress dependence on a regional party in West Bengal.

Having suffered several electoral reverses this year and pushed into a corner over corruption and rising prices, the Congress had hoped a victory in these by-elections would lift the spirits of its demoralised cadre and help the party to recover the lost political ground.

The results have come as a wake-up call for the party as it points to the continuing slide in its popularity. Despondent Congress leaders admitted that corruption, escalating price rise and the recent cap on subsidised cooking gas had fuelled further resentment against the party, not a happy sign as the party heads into crucial assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Unless the Congress can come up with a winning formula, these issues look set to dominate the political discourse.

Although faced with a bleak future, the Congress put up a brave face today. "Give us credit for where we have won...we will examine the results and analyse the reasons for today's verdict," remarked party spokesperson Manish Tewari.

The results also come at a time when corruption has come acquire the centre stage as two Congress leaders, former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Law Minister Salman Khurshid, find themselves in the thick of swirling controversies.