Not just the Congress, but many in the opposition heaved a sigh of relief as the Karnataka lection results gave a thumping win to the grand old party. Even the Trinamool Congress and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated the party and said that upcoming state polls would bring more good news.
The first big national impact of the Karnataka polls is going to be twofold. It brings back Rahul Gandhi in the reckoning and narrative as a strong contender against Narendra Modi. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been given the thumbs up by the party and poll data. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Wherever the yatra went, the party won 90% of the seats.”
Going the extra mile
As per data, the impact of the yatra was felt on at least 21 assembly seats. The party and Rahul Gandhi are now to embark on Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 and it’s going to end close to the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress hopes that like in Karnataka, the yatra, which will now go from east to west, will bring good results.
What it means for Rahul Gandhi is that the cynicism over the yatra will now ebb. But more than that, the party will use his disqualification as an MP and vacating of his official residence as a factor to whip up support for Gandhi. It also means that opposition parties like the TMC and AAP which were critical of Rahul Gandhi’s political calibre may now have to pipe down.
Congress as opposition fulcrum?
Apart from Rahul Gandhi, opposition parties may now have to look at the Congress more amiably.
With one loss after another, the Congress was finding it difficult to claim a place at the front of the opposition bloc. While the Congress had insisted that no opposition grouping could be built without it being the epicentre, strong regional parties like the TMC, AAP, and BRS were refusing to buy this. In private, many of their leaders described the Congress as an arrogant and lazy party that could do nothing right and would be a liability. “First prove yourself worthy of leading” was the message conveyed. Rahul Gandhi was singled out for barbs.
While saying the Congress has passed that test completely by winning Karnataka may not be completely accurate, it has at least shown that “yes, it can”. And this is what could endear it to some till-now-reluctant opposition parties and regional satraps.
Besides the BJP, the Congress remains the only party with a pan-India footprint. So it was always difficult to ignore it.
With the win down south, the Congress has now earned respect among opposition parties. And is back in the race.
Comments
0 comment