Not only did the Congress lose Haryana on Tuesday, but it also lost its ability to negotiate. The knives are also out. As the outcomes from Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana became apparent, the Congress was faced with two long-standing issues.
The outcome in Jammu and Kashmir demonstrated that the Congress required crutches in order to ascend. The Haryana MP solidified the notion that the Congress was still unable to defeat the BJP in a direct confrontation.
These would also have a bearing on the three impending Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi.
The Congress joined the conflict in J&K as a subordinate ally of the National Conference (NC), which is centered in the Valley.
The Congress only won 6 of the 32 seats, while the National Conference got 42 of the 51 seats it ran for.
The Congress will share power in J&K because of its alliance partner, the National Conference. Additionally, the Congress is a junior partner of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in Jharkhand, which also has elections in November. It must seize hold of the JMM in order to continue being relevant.
This was a derivation of the J&K poll result.
Another important lesson from Haryana that day was that, in spite of ten years of anti-incumbency campaigning against the saffron party, the Congress was unable to defeat the BJP head-on.
Following losses in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, Haryana suffered its fourth straight defeat.
The Madhya Pradesh fiasco is particularly noteworthy, as the Congress was unable to leverage the 15-year anti-incumbency campaign in the state’s core.
The partners in the INDIA bloc alliance took advantage of the twin messages, placing the Congress at a disadvantage in negotiations.
“The Congress party also needs to consider its approach. Because the Congress party is undermined whenever there is a direct conflict with the BJP. Why does it take place? Leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Priyanka Chaturvedi, remarked on Tuesday, “Rework the entire alliance…
In Maharashtra, which has its next election coming up, the Congress has an alliance partner in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).
The Congress attempted to establish itself as the head of the INDIA group after nearly doubling its number of seats to 99 in the Lok Sabha election.
As the largest party in the Maharashtra alliance, the Congress ought to be able to choose the candidate for chief minister, according to Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan’s remarks in September.
At the September India Today Conclave in Mumbai, Chavan declared, “I’ve claimed that the largest party should get this privilege, and I think the Congress party will be the largest party.”
It’s possible that following the Haryana election, that privilege was lost. Priyanka Chaturvedi, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), at least seemed to indicate that.
The problems with the Congress’s partnership extend beyond Maharashtra. Tough talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), chaired by Arvind Kejriwal, will take place in Delhi. Before February, there will probably be an election in Delhi.
“Let’s wait and watch what happens in Haryana. The most important thing to take up from this is to never get too confident when running for office, Kejriwal said the AAP municipal council members in New Delhi.
Despite addressing AAP members, Kejriwal’s remarks appeared to be aimed against the Congress.
In Haryana, a “overconfident” Congress declined to form a coalition with the AAP. After the AAP’s impressive showing in the last two Assembly elections, Kejriwal may feel inclined to repay the Congress in Delhi.
For the Congress, which emerged from the Lok Sabha election as the clear front-runner of the INDIA alliance, Tuesday was a sobering lesson. Allies are now casting doubt on the track record of a Congress that has lost its bargaining strength ahead of three pivotal elections.
