Congress's 'alliance of comfort' comes below fireplace as Haryana loss wipes out Lok Sabha features

NEW DELHI: The Congress, which was driving excessive on its success in Lok Sabha elections, has actually fallen flat after the social gathering’s beautiful defeat in Haryana meeting elections. The Haryana outcomes have left the Congress bleeding – with not simply the BJP however even the INDIA bloc companions unsparing of their assaults on the grand-old-party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unleashed a scathing assault on the Congress calling it an “irresponsible party” and a “factory to spread hatred.” He additionally accused the Congress of dividing Hindu society for its political features and scaring Muslims into changing into social gathering’s votebank.However it’s not PM Modi’s sharp assaults which will rattle the Congress. The social gathering could be extra nervous in regards to the fallout of this end result on its position because the fulcrum of the INDIA bloc.
Sadly for the Congress, Haryana elections have strengthened two perceptions that go in opposition to the social gathering in INDIA bloc. First, the Congress can not defeat the BJP alone in direct contests; and second, the Congress doesn’t make efforts to take its allies collectively in states the place it has a robust presence or the place it’s assured of successful alone.
‘Overconfident and arrogant’
In Haryana, the Congress and AAP held discussions for seat sharing after Rahul Gandhi urged the state unit to discover potentialities of contesting the elections below INDIA banner. Nevertheless, the talks did not materialise and the 2 events contested as rivals within the state.
The AAP, which didn’t open its account within the state, has claimed that the outcomes would have been completely different had the 2 events contested collectively. Nevertheless, outcomes present that AAP alliance may have helped Congress achieve solely 4 extra seats – Assandh, Dabwali, Uchhana Kalan and Rania. In all these 4 seats, the voted polled by AAP candidates was greater than the Congress’s defeat margin. Two of those seats have been gained by the BJP and the opposite two by the INLD.

Calling Congress “overconfident and arrogant”, AAP has introduced that it’ll go solo in Delhi meeting polls subsequent yr. “In Delhi, AAP will contest alone. We are capable of fighting the overconfident Congress and arrogant BJP alone,” social gathering spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar mentioned.
On Tuesday, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal had mentioned the most important lesson from the current spherical of elections was one shouldn’t be “overconfident”.
‘SP snubs Congress’
In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Social gathering went a step forward and unilaterally introduced 6 out of the ten candidates for meeting bypolls due within the state. This even if the 2 events had contested the meeting polls in alliance below the INDIA banner.
The Samajwadi Social gathering additionally has had a bitter alliance expertise with the Congress in Madhya Pradesh when throughout meeting elections, it was overtly snubbed on seat sharing. Kamal Nath who led the Congress marketing campaign within the state refused to acknowledge Akhilesh Yadav’s social gathering as an alliance associate.
‘Congress ignores regional parties when … ‘
The Shiv Sena (UBT) also trained its guns on the Congress and accused it of ignoring other parties that resulted in Haryana poll debacle. Party leader Sanjay Raut said the Congress’ “over confidence” was answerable for its defeat in Haryana, alleging that it depends on allies solely in areas the place they’re weak however ignores them in its stronghold areas.
“Wherever the Congress is weak, it takes help from the regional parties. But where it thinks it is strong, the Congress attaches no importance to the regional parties,” Raut mentioned.
“We could win in Jammu and Kashmir because the INDIA bloc was fighting there under the leadership of Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah. In Haryana, the INDIA bloc did not fight together because the Congress thought they could win on their own. Hooda ji is our friend, he thought he could win on his own,” he mentioned.
One other Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Priyanka Chaturvedi mentioned the Congress must introspect over its loss because it was in direct contest with the BJP. “The Congress has to introspect. There was a direct contest with the BJP. Where did they all fall short? I am sure they will analyse that,” she mentioned.
‘This attitude leads to electoral losses ‘
TMC MP Saket Gokhale took potshots at Congress without naming the party and slammed its attitude of not accommodating regional parties in places where they felt they were winning is leading to electoral losses.
“This attitude leads to electoral losses — if we feel we’re successful, we is not going to accommodate any regional social gathering… However in states the place we’re down, regional events should accommodate us,” the TMC MP mentioned in a put up on X.
“Arrogance, entitlement and looking down on regional parties is a recipe for disaster,” he mentioned.
Even Nationwide Convention vice-president Omar Abdullah had a bit of recommendation for his ally. “The Congress will have to go deep into it and find the reasons for its defeat,” Abdullah mentioned.
Clearly, the Haryana debacle will cut back Congress’s bargaining energy inside the INDIA bloc. Elections are due in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi. In all these states, the social gathering is an alliance associate with different INDIA bloc events.