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Key victories for Congress but challenges remain
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “Every victory for the Congress is a victory of our party worker. Keep fighting hate. No fear!” The victories are important for the principal Opposition party ahead of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab early next year.
For the Congress—a party currently jockeying with several other parties for the leadership in the Opposition space—the results of the latest round of by-elections are a mixed bag.
Sure, it won all three assembly seats and a Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, won two assembly seats in Rajasthan, and one each in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, but with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress tightening its grip over West Bengal by sweeping all four assembly seats at stake, including two that earlier belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party, its advantage may be minor, analysts say.
The TMC is already testing waters in Goa.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “Every victory for the Congress is a victory of our party worker. Keep fighting hate. No fear!”
The victories are important for the principal Opposition party ahead of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab early next year. Congress leaders quickly underlined that the party did well against the BJP where the two were in direct contest, but downplayed the dominance of the BJP and its allies in the North East (where they won all 10 assembly seats at stake) and the BJP’s win in two out of three assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh.
“BJP has lost 2 out of 3 seats in the Lok Sabha by-elections. Even in the assembly elections where there is a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP, the BJP has lost. Himachal, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra are proof of this. Mr. Modi, Leave the kingdom! Take back the black laws. Stop looting of petrol-diesel-gas,” tweeted Randeep Surjewala.
Of the three Lok Sabha seats that went to the polls, the Congress wrested one from the BJP, while the Shiv Sena, a Congress ally in Maharashtra won another. The BJP won the third.
For the Congress, winning seats in states where it is in a direct fight with the BJP is important, analysts said. Congress insiders maintain that if the party can perform well in these direct contests, it can stabilize its leadership position in Opposition bloc and also challenge the BJP more meaningfully.
Still, Trinamool’s success in Bengal helps chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s cause in national politics theatre, said a senior TMC leader. The party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee wasted no time in tweeting, “A cracker free Diwali in true sense. Wishing folks at BJP a very Happy Diwali!”
A senior Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity, “The big victory for the Congress ahead of the polls is significant. It will also help us set our tone for the upcoming polls. But the challenge of dealing with a more powerful Trinamool also becomes more important.”
