After Haryana, Maha setback for Congress
The “unexpected” defeat in Maharashtra has come as a big setback to the Congress. It has given the party a fresh blow after a similar surprise defeat inflicted on it by the BJP in Haryana.
Soon after the Congress put up a good show in the Lok Sabha elections by winning 99 seats and forced the BJP to depend on allies for securing a simple majority in the Lok Sabha, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi told the newly elected party MPs that they must keep up the momentum.
However, since then the Congress has lost five of the eight state elections.
The defeat in Maharashtra could have been balanced by the victory secured by the INDIA bloc in Jharkhand. However, being a small state, Jharkhand does not carry as much weight as Maharashtra.
Moreover, the victory in Jharkhand has been spearheaded by Hemant Soren-led JMM, the biggest party of the alliance in the state. Following the results today, the TMC which is part of the INDIA bloc, taunted the Congress saying it must wake up to the fact that only the regional parties could challenge the BJP in a more effective way than the Congress.
Incidentally, the TMC won all six Assembly seats in West Bengal where byelections were held. The Congress came in third or fourth position in the contest.
In Maharashtra, the Congress and its allies ran an aggressive campaign and tried to exploit local sentiment by accusing the BJP of shifting various big-ticket projects to Gujarat from Maharashtra. The collapse of the Shivaji statue inaugurated by PM Narenda Modi in Sindhudurga was also turned into a big poll issue.
However, none of these ploys worked. Following the defeat, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is being accused of spending more time for the LS bypoll in Wayanad than in Maharashtra. This charge was dismissed by Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera who said Rahul had been visiting Maharashtra even before the polls were announced.
Lack of coordination between the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies and monotony of Rahul’s demand for a caste census are said to be the other reasons for the defeat. The Congress, on the other hand, claimed the alliance fell victim to a conspiracy and was denied “a level playing field”.
