With the exit polls predicting a near rout for the Congress in Maharashtra and Haryana, the party’s internal assessment for the two states is not encouraging either.
The assessment by the Haryana Congress had suggested that the party will stand third in a multi-cornered contest with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) emerging as the single largest party, followed by the BJP. However, exit polls have predicted an outright win for the BJP, with the INLD coming a distant second.
Haryana Congress leaders were of the view that the party would get 10 seats and the evaluation was done on the basis of the performance in this summer’s Lok Sabha polls.
Similarly, the estimate of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), according to sources, is that “anything above 30 seats is bonus” for the party.
Maharashtra Congress leaders are attributing the dismal performance of the coalition that ruled the state for 15 consecutive years to the anti-incumbency factor and the allegations of corruption against the NCP.
The two parties snapped their ties last month over the failure to reach a seat-sharing arrangement.