Why the Congress is at a crossroads

An avoidable crisis in Goa was doused by a dose of President?s Rule, writes Saroj Nagi.

The Congress has work to do. The fallout of the drama in Bihar, Jharkhand and Goa has been a dilution of the trust that cements a coalition: it threatens to cast a shadow over the functioning of the Manmohan Singh’s UPA government. Here’s why:

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Bad maths for the Congress, the numbers just don’t add up. An avoidable crisis in Goa was doused by a dose of President’s Rule. In Jharkhand, the Congress-appointed Governor asked Shibu Soren to form a government, only to find the majority of MLAs landing up at Rashtrapati Bhawan, pledging support to the NDA.

In Bihar, the Congress went in for a two-way alliance with the RJD and the LJP to rebuild its base and enhance its authority over its allies at the Centre. It ended up with only 10 seats, a bitter Lalu Yadav, a recalcitrant Ram Vilas Paswan and, to its great discomfiture, a resurgent JD (U)-BJP which has put its infighting and despair behind it and begun to flex its muscles in Parliament. And no viable state government yet in sight.