The Maharashtra assembly poll has once again exposed the delicate position of the Congress in India’s political scenario and within the INDIA group. Although it did fairly well in the Lok Sabha elections this year by winning 99 seats, which is better than before but still the third lowest in its history, the party mainly gained support in areas where it relied on strong allies to compete against the BJP.
Out of the 99 seats, 36 were won in states where Congress was in a subordinate role to regional allies, gaining a lot from vote transfers.
Nevertheless, in situations where the Congress directly confronted the BJP, whether head-on or with the involvement of other parties, its performance was extremely unsatisfactory.
Out of the 168 seats that were up for grabs in those situations, the Congress only won 30. More wins were recorded in states such as Kerala, Punjab, Telangana, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Lakshadweep, and West Bengal, where the BJP has a minor presence or where its allies were in charge of the competition. These number details, which were not initially noted due to the party’s celebrations about preventing the BJP from securing a majority in the Lok Sabha elections, have been revealed in the assembly polls that followed since May.
Losing in a strategically important state like Maharashtra is a significant blow, impacting not only the Congress’s electoral goals but also its position as the leader of the INDIA bloc. The weak showing of the party has highlighted divisions within the coalition, as powerful regional players such as Mamata Banerjee’s TMC and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) show they can rival the BJP on their own.
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The TMC’s clean sweep in the West Bengal by-elections, securing all six seats with larger victory margins, underscored the diminishing significance of the Congress in states controlled by influential regional parties. The outcome in Bengal also showed that incidents such as the trainee doctor’s rape-murder at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital and corruption allegations, which the Opposition focused on during the campaign, had minimal effect on the verdict.
In the future, the forthcoming Delhi elections will determine the Congress’s standing within the INDIA bloc. The competition will determine if Congress can position itself as the central figure in anti-BJP politics or if it continues to be a burden for the alliance, as both Congress and AAP have rejected the idea of forming an alliance.
