Assembly Elections 2024: Congress on the backfoot as I.N.D.I.A. bloc fails to capitalise on Lok Sabha gains

New Delhi: An impressive win in Jharkhand will not wash away the impact of the massive defeat in Maharashtra for the Congress and the I.N.D.I.A bloc, which could not hold on to its political narrative that made them crawl back to prominence after Lok Sabha results.

Bypoll results from across the country are also not enthusiastic for the I.N.D.I.A bloc, as the BJP-led NDA appears to have put the Lok Sabha shocker behind starting with the win in Haryana when Congress was the hot favourite.

The opposition leaders, especially those from the Congress, will have to question themselves how they managed to lose momentum within months of the Lok Sabha polls and why they could not hold on to a narrative that had impressed people, especially in Maharashtra where it won handsomely.

The immediate impact of the results would be in Parliament where the Opposition was planning to go big on Manipur and the indictment of Gautam Adani in the United States. It would also give the BJP positive vibes ahead of Delhi Assembly elections when AAP will be vying for a third term.

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The biggest worry for the I.N.D.I.A bloc would be the electoral diminishment of both Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackery, for whom the Maharashtra Assembly results were of huge existential importance. Both will now have to look at how their rivals Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde capitalise on it.

The possible churn in both NCP (Pawar) and Shiv Sena (UBT) could spell trouble for Opposition and it is to be seen how Uddhav and his MLAs react to the emerging scenario with Shinde, who claimed the ‘original’ Sena after splitting from the Thackerays, asserting his political dominance.

For the Congress, the resurgence witnessed months ago has been frittered away with a below par performance in Maharashtra where it even conceded seats after a protracted battle for prominence within the coalition. It could not hold on to the Lok Sabha performance.

Jharkhand also did not give them much to cheer about as the credit goes to JMM and Hemant Soren, who refused to bow down to theories of the NDA making a comeback to power with a shrill Hindutva plank.

The Congress gains in Jharkhand were in the shadow of JMM as in Jammu and Kashmir, where it was almost wiped out in the Jammu region. To undercut Congress, allies would now argue that the grand old party is not in good shape to take on BJP.

Congress also could not cash in on the guarantees, as their campaign floundered with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi not being seen as an enthusiastic campaigner. Like in Haryana, it is said that he was peeved at the way the Congress managers were conducting the campaign.

A silent campaign has already been started against Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal claiming that the party has lost 31 out of 40 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections under his command since his appointment in January 2019.

For the Congress, the bypolls, except in Karnataka and Kerala, did not bring much cheer as it lost sitting seats in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Meghalaya though it gained in Madhya Pradesh.

Congress also could have contributed to Samajwadi Party’s poor show in Uttar Pradesh, as its leaders and workers kept themselves away following the party’s decision not to contest the polls, and in a way strengthening the hands of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who was on the backfoot.

Among the allies, Trinamool Congress managed to keep its prominence in West Bengal while AAP gained thanks to Congress’ losses in Punjab.

The road ahead for the Opposition appears bumpy now as it heads to Assembly elections in Delhi in February and Bihar later next year.

Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here

Jharkhand Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here

Bypoll 2024 results | Check Karnataka results here

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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