National Conference Is National Face-Saver For Indian National Congress
The Congress has failed in Haryana. The Congress has failed in Jammu and Kashmir. In J&K, the failure of the Congress has been hidden by the shining performance of its alliance partner, the National Conference (NC).
The revival of the Congress is hugely over-stated.
Despite a hugely optimistic scenario, the Congress has failed to dominate in Haryana. In J&K, Congress shall find place in the power corridors only because the National Conference is handholding India’s grand old party.
Congress is part of the winning hierarchy in J&K, but individually the party has posted a below average performance.
The writing is on the wall. Congress has actually fared very badly in the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Its pre-poll alliance with the National Conference has emerged as its face-saver.
The Statistics Speak Of Congress Failure
The Congress contested on 29 seats in the Jammu region. It could win only one of these seats. The local leaders of the Congress failed to get the people to believe in the grand old party.
In Kashmir, Congress won three seats riding on the shoulders of National Conference.
In J&K, the failure of the Congress has been hidden by the shining performance of its alliance partner, the National Conference
On Kashmir’s social media, many are discussing that even the Abdullahs would be astounded about the sweeping win, since they would not have expected it.
Additionally, many are speculating that the Abdullahs would be regretting the pre-poll alliance with the Congress.
The National Conference led by Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah contested 51 seats as part of the alliance with Congress, and won 41 of these seats.
NC could have easily formed the government on its own with the support of the Independent candidates, without needing Congress support.
The Carefully-Built Narrative Of Congress Revival
After the Lok Sabha elections in April-May this year, Congress had assiduously built the narrative of its revival.
After the Assembly results, the talk that Rahul Gandhi is steadily ascending has been punctured
After the Assembly results, the talk that Rahul Gandhi is steadily ascending has been punctured. The message is the same in Jammu and Kashmir. Under Omar Abdullah’s leadership, Kashmir’s grand old party, the National Conference, has won in J&K. Under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, India’s grand old party, Indian National Congress, has lost.
The numbers tell the tale.
Political Heft of Congress Gets Further Dented
Had the Congress had swept Jammu, the party was ready to give all the credit for the victory to Gandhi. But in the Assembly elections, Congress is trailing far behind BJP, as usual.
It has been a long winter for the Congress. Since the winter of 2018, the Congress – whether headed by Sonia Gandhi or by Rahul Gandhi – has not been able to win a single Assembly election in Northern India, barring its victory in Himachal Pradesh.
Since Himachal Pradesh does not carry much political heft on the national stage, the Congress does not have much to boast about there. Himachal Pradesh is known to vote out the incumbent government, and the hold of the local Congress leaders has been strong. Hence the Himachalis as well as the party high command are aware that Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh cannot be put in the kitty of the Gandhi family.
The victory in J&K belongs to Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah. Rahul Gandhi cannot take the credit for the victory.
The Congress shall find it difficult to approach the elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand on a strong footing. Counting on the Haryana win, the Congress was hoping to deliver
many political messages that Rahul Gandhi had been building over the past few months, including the hype over his caste calculus. All those hopes are dimmed now.
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