Ahmedabad Times

NEW DELHI: In cricketing analogy, Congress obtained off the mark with Kerala. The get together notched its first victory since successful Telangana in Dec 2023, and at last confirmed some resilience after its commendable present within the 2024 Lok Sabha polls was adopted by a nosedive that noticed it give up solo winnable turfs and submit poor tallies in alliances.Kerala is a sigh of reduction for Congress that appeared to have misplaced the talent of successful. Haryana and Maharashtra had been winnable, however it got here up means quick.In coalition states, Congress did poorly within the successful NC alliance of J&Ok, and within the shedding alliance (MVA) of Maharashtra with its lowest ever tally within the huge state. Jharkhand, deftly managed by senior associate JMM, was the one redeeming function.Additionally learn| Meeting election outcomes 2026: Vijay wave, Bengal breakthrough, Kerala reset – 10 takeawaysOn this backdrop, Kerala’s massive win is particular for Congress, particularly because the Left stronghold was seen to be an in depth contest. However cancelling the Kerala impact was the decimation in Assam.A decade out of energy in its one-time stronghold, the assured try at revival by appointing MP Gaurav Gogoi on the helm got here a cropper.The get together appears to haven’t any reply to the non secular polarisation set in movement by BJP. Congress’s persevering with moribund state in West Bengal and the dismal present in Tamil Nadu as a junior ally to DMK reveals it has not progressed a lot for the reason that introduction of Modi-led BJP decimated it nationally.The resilient present in 2024 polls in what was an especially difficult election had raised hopes within the get together concerning the future. However the elections that adopted disenchanted Congress cadres no finish. The 2026 outcomes, regardless of the solitary win, betray a paralysing stagnation.For Congress, the challenges stay as they had been post-Could 2014 — its decimation within the heartland and BJP’s success in portray it with the ‘Muslim brush’. Transferring ahead, Congress has to discover a method to confront BJP in bipolar states that span the north, moreover Gujarat and Goa.The get together confirmed spunk in Dec 2018 when it swept Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan.Nevertheless it misplaced them 5 years later. A giant handicap for Congress has been BJP’s unbridled push for polarisation, which has delivered even in states like Chhattisgarh, MP, Gujarat, which have small Muslim populations. Pushed to the brink, the get together did suppose out-of-the-box within the interim.Additionally learn| INDIA footprint fades on Bharat map as allies stumble in West Bengal, Tamil NaduBharat Jodo Yatra was a daring try and neutralise ‘polarisation’, as Rahul Gandhi walked the nation’s size and breadth to focus on BJP on communalism, marginalisation of underprivileged communities. The yatra had a direct impression on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.Its accounts seized, its ranks dented by defections and the marketing campaign dominated by Ayodhya and related points, Congress and INDIA bloc allies nonetheless managed to run BJP ragged. Congress managed to win agood chunk of seats in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and with allies in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra. It did nicely on southern turfs of Karnataka and Telangana.However simply when Congress felt that non secular mobilisation had run its course, it misplaced to poor administration in Haryana and Maharashtra polls.And since then, it has been confronted by resurgent BJP push for polarisation, whereas ECmandated SIR, poor marketing campaign plan and lax allies haven’t helped the issues.As BJP wins new territories so as to add to its rock strong northern and western states, Congress faces the crucial of successful on BJP’s heartland hegemonies if it has to face an opportunity within the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.