The Maharashtra and Haryana election results delivered a major jolt for the BJP as the results didn’t match the bullish sentiments of securing a 2/3rd majority in both the states. While in Maharashtra, the Congress finds itself only marginally better as it managed to improve its tally from 42 to 44 in the Maharashtra legislature. However, it is the state of Haryana where the party witnessed a gargantuan resurgence which defied expectations. From being reduced to 15 seats in 2014, the party’s tally rose to 31 in the just concluded election which baffled many political analysts. There are many factors on how did Congress manage to double its tally but the major factor is down to the absence of the Gandhi family as they decided to throw in the towel even before the election bugle was sounded.
The Haryana unit of Congress was battling factionalism as ex-CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the state President Ashok Tanwar were in each other’s crosshairs. Tanwar who was believed to be close to Rahul Gandhi was the first one to bite the dust as Hooda prevailed over him and Kumari Selja was appointed as the state President to have Dalit-Jat consolidation. In the run-up to the Haryana election, even the most ardent Congress supporters didn’t expect the party to improve its tally of 15 which it secured in 2014. The results defied expectations and Hooda’s grassroots appeal helped the Congress sail through.
The biggest shot in the arm received by the Congress state unit was the total disregard of the Congress’ apex family. Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra didn’t feel it was worth their time to attend any public programmes in the state as the former was found to spend more time in Tihar jail meeting the likes of P Chidambaram and DK Shivakumar than Haryana and Maharashtra combined. It seems that the ‘next’ Indira Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was still massaging her hurt ego as the Lok Sabha elections delivered a stinging rejection of her politics. Rahul Gandhi who decided to award himself a much deserved holiday in Bangkok after the party’s ‘stupendous’ performance in the Lok Sabha elections graced the people of Haryana by attending a whopping two rallies as the Gandhi family weren’t even a part of the strategy sessions.
The BJP campaign lies in sharp contrast to that of the Congress as both Modi and Shah addressed about 30 rallies in both the States. Shah addressed half a dozen meetings only on the last day of the campaign in Maharashtra apart from several strategy sessions he presided as the chief strategist of the saffron party.
The Haryana Congress was strengthened by the absence of Rahul Gandhi who time and again, has emerged as Congress’s biggest liability. In the past, his various faux-pass has seen the party shielding and defending him instead of attacking the BJP and campaigning on grassroots issues. His speeches were full of hatred for the BJP and Modi and lies were a part and parcel of his speeches, hence putting the party in a tough spot. To say that Congress’s Lok Sabha was a disaster would be in an understatement as the Gandhi scion blundered at every step of the way with economically unviable schemes like NYAY or his Rafale lie for which he was forced to apologise. The Congress in Haryana seemed reinvigorated as instead of defending Rahul, it found itself focusing on the people’s issues.
A video clip which had vent viral on the eve of elections, saw Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel in serious discussions over the party’s poll prospects on Haryana. The apex family’s apex servant, Ahmed Patel was shell-shocked when Hooda told him that the party will only manage to muster 10-12 seats. It seems that Hooda has fooled the Gandhi family by underestimating Congress’ chances in Haryana to keep the Gandhi family at bay. Hooda is well-aware that the Gandhi family reeks of entitlement and won’t campaign for a losing cause. Even in Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh led the fight to the Akali-BJP in the 2017 Assembly polls. Gandhis were not a factor in Punjab as Captain Amarinder had his own strategy and led the state Congress unit to a successful win over the Akali-BJP coalition.
If Punjab and Haryana results are anything to go by, the Congress can only revive itself if it sheds the burden of the Gandhi family.
