Haryana shocker puts Congress in backfoot among allies in Maharashtra and Jharkhand

Congress

Following the recent electoral defeat in Haryana, the Congress leadership faces a pivotal moment as it gears up for two important elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand slated towards the end of this year.

Although the Congress termed Tuesday's outcome as “surprising, against popular sentiment and cannot be accepted”, the party is mindful of its immediate and long-term political implications especially with crucial states like Maharashtra and Jharkhand going to polls. The shock defeat in Haryana will also put a brake to the narrative that post the Lok Sabha verdict, the Congress, is on the path of revival.

Questioning the “integrity” of the counting process at a press conference, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh and his colleague, Pawan Khera, alleged that party candidates lost from constituencies where the batteries of the electronic voting machines displayed “99% battery life” as against 60-70%. There were 12 to 14 constituencies from where complaints were received and the party would take these up with the Election Commission, the duo added.

The most immediate fallout from Tuesday's poll debacle would be the party’s position within the Maha Vikas Aghadhi (MVA) before the Assembly polls in Maharashtra, where it emerged as the single largest party in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Media reports indicate that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is looking to contest the maximum number of seats in the upcoming election and eyeing the chief ministerial position, the Haryana setback leaves very little elbow room to drive a hard bargain during seat-sharing talks.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi pointed how the Congress once again lost against the BJP in a direct fight despite anti-incumbency in Haryana. In Jharkhand too, where the Congress is part of the ruling alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the party would have to play a secondary role.

A major takeaway from Haryana is that the Congress failed in a direct fight against the BJP, despite 10 years of anti-incumbency against the saffron party. The Haryana loss in a straight fight came after defeats in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Of these, the Madhya Pradesh debacle stands out as the Congress failed to capitalise on the 15-year anti-incumbency in the heartland state.

Ahead of the two crucial elections, allies will now be questioning the Congress, and the party will lose much of its negotiating heft.