Congress’s delusion of grandeur imperils I.N.D.I. A. bloc

Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian National Congress (INC) appears far from disillusioned with back-to-back defeats it suffered in assembly elections held in the last six months.

The key organisational functionaries in the grand old party still suffer from the delusion that the first family at the helm is capable of turning the tide in its favour in future electoral battles.

The party had been routed in Haryana and Maharashtra, and now, in Delhi as well.

In the first two states, the resounding defeat followed an assertive campaign, couched in high rhetoric, led by Rahul Gandhi.
In the case of Delhi, this is the third time in a row that the party has drawn a blank.

The lone consolation in between was Jharkhand, where the Congress is a junior partner to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
But for blaming the Electronic Votic Machine (EVM) and malpractices in electoral rolls for the loss, the party has so far not made any sincere introspection on what went wrong and how things could be corrected.

It is not just the failure of the Congress alone that matters, going by the larger interests of the country’s politics. This failure has imperiled the entire opposition I.N.D.I.A. A bloc. A weak opposition does not augur well for a parliamentary democracy.
The party had gone willy-nilly in Delhi. The whole intention of its lethargic electioneering was to deny the Aam Admi Party (AAP) a majority in the assembly.

The Congress’s regional satraps appeared to have convinced the top brass that the party could increase its percentage of votes and even pick up a few seats here and there. If the verdict throws up a hung assembly, then the AAP could be propped up to power with a lot of strings attached. The Congress’s self-deluded strategists wove a picture that such a scenario would strengthen the leadership position ofthe party in the INDIA bloc and eventually regain the lost ground in Delhi itself.

Had the local and central leadership been a little realistic, the party would have struck some understanding with AAP. But gone are the days when the Congress is a party that has its eyes and ears on the ground. The party’s reckless organisational wing, from top to bottom, is squarely responsible for its failure to deliver.

Since Congress is no longer a party that adheres to the best internal democratic practices, it would be futile to think that there would be any drastic organisational revamp at the local and national tiers.

Though the prevailing scenario is bleak, the INDIA bloc will continue as loose and amorphous as it has always been. In parliament, the opposition axis will put up a united front against the NDA Government, especially against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But on the ground, across the political geographies, it would remain inconsequential.

The next big electoral battle is in Bihar, where the Congress is not the leading partner in the RJD-led alliance. The INDIA bloc may go to the polls as a united alliance in the politically crucial state if Congress refrains from making unrealistic claims of being the sole national component in the front.

On the other extreme, the INDIA alliance does not exist in states like Kerala, where the elections are due in slightly over a year. The CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF have already begun the sabre-rattling in the southern state.

The failure of the Congress to prove it as a force to reckon with in vast swathes of the country has dealt a mortal blow to its credibility in Uttar Pradesh as well. The Samajwadi Party is unlikely to accommodate the demands of the Congress in future elections, as it did in the 2024 parliament polls. All these boil down to the reality that Congress is now a lean and emaciated political force and not as robust as its leaders still wish to believe.

AAP’s rout in Delhi is likely to have its fallout in Punjab, the lone state where the party is in power. Internal dissensions within the AAP may surface soon. The BJP is likely to revive its alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). This process will see both the AAP Congress caught in a situation where they may be forced to strike an alliance.