‘Modi, Ram Mandir, delay in naming candidates’ factors behind Congress Lok Sabha poll drubbing in Himahcal

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, July 15

The Narendra Modi factor, Ram Mandir, delay in naming candidates, poor organizational strength, lack of coordination at various levels and leaders without mass base getting big responsibilities emerged as major factors in the postmortem of the Congress’s 4-0 defeat in the Lok Sabha elections by a two-member All India Congress Committee here today.

On the first day of the two-day exercise, the committee, comprising Rajni Patil and PL Punia, kicked off the proceedings by meeting Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, state president Pratibha Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri. Later, the committee took feedback on the party’s loss in the Mandi and the Hamirpur parliamentary constituencies from the candidates, the MLAs and the district and blocks president of these two constituencies. Tomorrow, the committee will discuss the loss in the Kangra and the Shimla constituencies.

One of the biggest reasons for the BJP’s 4-0 sweep to emerge from these interactions is the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It also becomes evident from the BJP losing five state-centric elections on the trot, but sweeping the Lok Sabha elections for the third time in a row.

“The Prime Minister has been a factor behind our defeat to some extent. Having said that, we improved our performance in this Lok Sabha elections compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” said Kuldeep Rathore, former state Congress president. “The Ram Mandir in Ayodhya also gave the BJP an advantage in the state,” he added.

As for the Congress shortcomings that paved the way for another thumping BJP win in the state, some leaders brought up the delay in naming the candidates. “The candidates should have been decided a lot earlier. The BJP candidates had already covered a lot of ground before the party high command decided the candidates. Given the geographic conditions of the state, candidates need time to reach out to the electorate,” said a senior leader.

Another leader pointed out that the organisational weakness vis-à-vis the BJP and the lack of coordination between the government and the organisation were the other big reasons for the loss. “The issue of weak organization came up in almost every interaction with the committee,” said a Congress leader.

From the point of view of the leaders on the ground, handing crucial responsibilities to the individuals without any connect with the masses dealt a decisive blow to the prospects of the Congress. Also, some of these leaders complained that they were not taken into confidence in the selection of the candidates, which left them quite upset. The role of some bureaucrats was also questioned by some leaders. “Some of the bureaucrats played a negative role. Many did not even bother to implement the decisions approved by the Chief Minister himself,” said a senior leader.

Organisational weakness vis-à-vis the BJP

• Some leaders brought up the delay in naming the candidates.
• “The candidates should have been decided a lot earlier. The BJP candidates had already covered a lot of ground before the party high command decided the candidates. Given the geographic conditions of the state, candidates need time to reach out to the electorate,” said a senior leader.
• Another leader pointed out that the organisational weakness vis-à-vis the BJP.
• Handing responsibilities to persons without any connect with the masses dealt a decisive blow to the Congress.