Lok Sabha Elections: Why does Congress expect good results from the North as well as the South?

New Delhi : Congress is hopeful that it is going to perform better this time. On one hand it is hoping to repeat its performance in those states where it had performed better last time, while on the other hand it is hoping for better results in some states of the North apart from the South, where it could not even open its account or was limited to one or two seats. While on one hand the party is considering the effect of Rahul Gandhi’s visit as the reason behind this confidence of Congress, the major reason behind this is the better coordination in the opposition camp and the response received to their campaigning with the allies of the India Alliance phase by phase of the election. However, this time Congress is contesting on the least number of seats, 327 seats.

Base of strength in South

It is worth noting that in 2014, when the Congress and UPA government were rejected in most places in the country, it was the southern states that saved its honour. At that time, the Congress, which contested 464 seats, got a total of 44 seats, out of which it got 9 seats from Karnataka and 8 from Kerala, while it got two seats in the newly formed state of Telangana, while its account was not opened in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. On the other hand, in 2019, the Congress contested 421 seats and got 52 seats. While the party got one seat from Karnataka, it got 15 seats from Kerala. Andhra Pradesh disappointed it last time too, and it got 8 seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Telangana. This time, while the Congress is hoping to repeat its performance in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, its eyes are on Telangana and Karnataka, where it has a government in both the places. The Congress believes that it will get better results this time on the basis of its government fulfilling the promises made to the people. It is hoping to increase its seats from here.

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Congress hopes for better performance in North

This time, Congress is eyeing those states where it could not even open its account last time or its presence was limited to one or two seats. In states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Congress was facing continuous drought for the last two times. Whereas in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, UP, Maharashtra, it was limited to one or two seats. Last time, it did not get a single seat in Haryana. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana and Chhattisgarh are considered to be the states from where North has high expectations this time. Congress, which is fighting under the banner of Mahavikas Aghadi in Maharashtra, feels that it is going to do well this time. In fact, it got two seats from here in 2014 and one seat last time. Similarly, the party is hoping to open its account in Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan. In Haryana, the party is considering the anger of farmers, dissatisfaction of female wrestler and anger of Jats as an environment in its favor. Congress believes that people’s dissatisfaction towards the double engine government will take it across. However, Congress is also hopeful from UP and Madhya Pradesh, where it got one seat each last time. In UP, it is in competition with SP. In Bihar, Congress is fighting with RJD, it feels that the way Nitish Kumar destabilized the government there by changing sides just before the elections, the sympathy of the people on the ground is with the RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan. There is a similar expectation from Jharkhand, where India Alliance feels that the sympathy arising from the arrest of CM Hemant Soren will benefit them.

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Congress trusts its strategy

If Congress is expecting better results this time, then it has its own strategy behind it. The party feels that it has contested the elections with full strategy and preparations. The party believes that this time it not only went to the people with big issues like inflation, unemployment, saving the constitution, but it also tried to contest the elections by keeping the real issues related to the people at the center throughout the election, it did not deviate from the issues. The party believes that in the last two times, Congress kept oscillating between the agenda set by BJP and PM Modi and was seen in defensive mode, whereas this time it set the agenda and PM Modi and the ruling party had to respond. A big reason behind this confidence of Congress is also believed to be its own manifesto, where it went to the people relying on five social justices and 25 guarantees.