Incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan and the BJP have emerged victorious, heading towards a clean sweep in the state. In Rajasthan, the Congress is facing the possibility of being voted out of power, as the state adheres to its cyclic voting trend. Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh, the BJP is also expected to edge out the Congress. The only positive news for the Congress came from Telangana, where it is likely to form a government on its own.
In the Hindi heartland– barring Himachal Pradesh — Congress is nowhere in power. It is a junior partner in Bihar and Jharkhand. All other Hindi heartland states are with the BJP.
The electoral contest has been a disappointment for the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where they were hoping for a return to power. The party entrusted the leadership to Kamal Nath, 78, and Digvijaya Singh, 76, but they failed to counter the BJP’s social engineering and social scheme formula. Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP deployed central ministers and Lok Sabha MPs to campaign vigorously in Madhya Pradesh.
- All
- Madhya Pradesh
- Rajasthan
- Telangana
- Chhattisgarh
- Mizoram
The Congress focused its campaign on 11 guarantees, including various freebies, but voters did not find them substantial enough. The BJP had already implemented several social schemes, particularly the ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme, which received massive support from women voters.With this kind of result, the Congress, which won only one Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh and two in Chhattisgarh in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, stares another test next year in the Hindi Heartland. The party looks limited to the southern regions of India. The loss of these three states is a significant concern for the Congress, as it indicates that the party’s electoral strategy centered around caste census didn’t work with the voters.The Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, embraced the idea of a caste census after the Bihar government, in which the Congress is a partner, conducted a similar exercise. The party promised to carry out a caste census in all the states where it sought power, but it seems that this promise did not find any takers.In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress won the election by promising to revive the Old Pension scheme, while in Karnataka, it relied on a set of electoral sops. The party attempted to use the same strategy in the Hindi Heartland, but it backfired. The BJP reinforced its free ration scheme and highlighted its successful social schemes in Madhya Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi’s attack on the Prime Minister, accusing him of neglecting the OBCs, also had a negative impact. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself an OBC, and Shivraj Chouhan countered this by emphasizing the Congress’ corruption-ridden track record.
With just a few months left before Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a historic third term, the Congress has had to rely on its allies. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has already reached out to the leaders of the INDIA block to meet next week. The battle for 2024 is now fully underway, but it appears that the Congress will have to make significant efforts to challenge the BJP’s dominance.
(Inputs from ANI)