Lok Sabha elections are around the corner and the two significant national parties, namely BJP and Congress are set to add more bricks to their Mission 2019. Since Narendra Modi’s ascent to the topnotch prime ministerial position in 2014, the political map of India has drastically ‘saffronized’ in last three years. In a span of just three years, India’s biggest, 132-year-old ‘secular’ party has lost all its important tracts to the right-wing Bhartiya Janta Party.
Today, Modi led BJP controls not one or two, but total 16 out of 29 states in India, a significant number for any political party in India. Contrary to this, the Congress that once enjoyed unparallel power in 14 states till 2013 has been reduced to just 6 states, that too due to their collaboration with other state-level parties.
Seeing the results of state assembly elections held in 5 major states of India this year, it’s safe to say that BJP has consolidated its position in the upcoming 2019 assembly elections, whereas the Congress is drowning in its pool of failures.
The shocking truth is that the BJP claimed around 325 out of 403 seats in India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh and Congress-SP alliance won just 54 seats. The Congress performed poorly in these elections, with just 7 independent seats to its name.
The bigger question here is how the pioneers of Indian freedom movement get reduced to quivering rubble in a limited time period. In next few paragraphs, we’re going to analyze the reason behind their failure of Congress.
- Modi’s ‘Face of Development’
If the political analysts Sanjay Kumar and Praveen Rai are to be believed, Congress has fewer chances at victory, all due to the ‘larger-than-life’ image of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM enjoys impeccable prowess and has an uncorrupt public image. Moreover, demonetization, Ujjwala Yojana and the Gujarat model for development etc. launched by Modi were masterstrokes that caused grand tectonic shift in Indian politics since 2014.
- Long List of Scams
2G, 3G, CWG, Augusta Chopper, Coal, Tatra Trucks, Ambulance—you name it and Congress has done it! The INC has unending, inevitable list of scams trailing behind their name. Most of them have been publicly exposed, as per CAG reports and many others are under investigation still. This is a major reason as to why the Indian public is more inclined towards BJP today. To top it, the unforgiving sentiment of the public made things worse for Congress.
- Lack of Practical Strategies
While BJP CMs and union ministers are establishing their roots in different states by launching a series of powerful schemes, Congress leaders are engrossed in their blame game. Rather than planning a development-centric strategy for future, they’re busy bursting the balloons of the NDA’s failures.
The party is struggling with short-sighted vision, naïve representation, in-house feuds and internal disagreements. All of these contribute to its electoral calamities.
- Poor Leadership
The congress high command invested all its efforts in Rahul Gandhi, who kept missing the bull’s eye due to his political naivety, lack of awareness and poor oration skills. The party got multiple chances to get back in the game, especially after surgical strikes and demonetization, but they failed to cash in these opportunities. All they did was make baseless allegations without digging in substantial facts. This just confirms that ever since Gandhi was promoted to the post of Congress vice president, he has failed to address major issues within the party.
- Inability to Strike Profitable Alliances
The Congress had a golden chance to rise to power in Goa and Manipur, but they failed to strike profitable deals with smaller factions. Though they collaborated with SP in Uttar Pradesh, it didn’t reap sizeable advantages for them. Even their political comeback in Punjab was staged solely by PPC Chief Amrinder Singh, and not the Congress high command.
- In-house Politics
The unstable INC failed to make its mark in MCD polls due to infighting and hostility existing between top party leaders. Whether it’s Sheila Dikshit, CP Joshi, Sachin Pilot or Ashok Gehlot, the confusion and conflicts within the party are visible now. Resultantly, several party members like Reeta Bahuguna Joshi and Arvinder Singh Lovely have deflected to BJP now.
Trapped within a multitude of problems, the Congress needs to carefully chalk out its strategy for 2019 assembly elections. Many experienced leaders have refused to contest as the prime minister candidate and the remaining few have a corrupt image in public. Both these factors have worked wonders in BJP’s case that has already started planning its roadmap under PM Modi’s leadership. With just one and a half years left, the INC really needs to eliminate these shortcomings, should they want to win the game!
