With Uddhav authorities’s departure, crisis-hit Congress loses energy in one more state

By PTI

NEW DELHI: Battered by a string of electoral reverses, the Congress has now been edged out of energy in one more state with the autumn of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) authorities in Maharashtra, and now governs solely Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh by itself, and Jharkhand in alliance with the JMM and the RJD.

The growth comes as a jolt to the grand outdated get together which earlier this yr suffered serial setbacks within the meeting elections in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab.

The get together misplaced its authorities in Punjab and did not money in on the perceived anti-incumbency issue towards the BJP in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

The Congress had fared poorly in Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry in 2021, managing to win as a junior ally to the DMK in Tamil Nadu, the place it didn’t be a part of the federal government.

The shock churn in Maharashtra politics pose a giant problem to the get together struggling to maintain its flock collectively amid continuous desertion by its senior leaders.

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Congress leaders are tight-lipped in regards to the developments in Maharashtra, the place it was making an attempt to salvage the state of affairs for the MVA authorities led by Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray by providing the providers of the celebrated authorized minds in its ranks.

Several distinguished leaders, together with former Union ministers Ashwani Kumar and R P N Singh, ex Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and Gujarat Working president Hardik Patel, have stop the get together in the previous few months.

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Its Assam unit chief Ripun Bora, and chief whip within the Rajya Sabha Bhubaneswar Kalita additionally left the get together.

Senior leaders like Jitin Prasada and Jyotiraditya Scindia, in addition to former Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev and P C Chacko had been amongst those that jumped ship.

That the Maharashtra disaster comes on the heels of the Congress’ “Chintan Shivir” in Udaipur, the place the get together pledged to reconnect with the plenty, is important.

Many within the get together apprehend the developments in Maharashtra could hasten additional flight of leaders on the lookout for greener pastures.

The latent angst amongst its leaders, which was neither noticed nor addressed in time by the Shiv Sena, apparently led to the revolt and supreme collapse of the MVA authorities.

Congress insiders say it was a repeat of comparable developments seen in Karnataka, Puducherry and Madhya Pradesh, the place insurgent get together lawmakers introduced down its governments.

Several Congress MLAs from Karnataka exited the get together in 2019 and repeated the method in Madhya Pradesh in March 2020, when former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia staged a coup, bringing down the federal government led by Kamal Nath.

Fresh issues additionally stem from the environment generated in Rajasthan within the wake of the grisly homicide of a Hindu tailor in Udaipur by two radicalised Muslims.

With tempers getting frayed, The Ashok Gehlot authorities needed to impose prohibitory orders throughout the state.

The BJP has typically benefited electorally from communal polarisation.

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Assembly election is due in Rajasthan late subsequent yr.

Factionalism in Rajasthan Congress additionally stays a actuality that can not be wished away.

Party insiders say the Congress might want to fastidiously watch former Rajasthan deputy CM Sachin Pilot whose relationship with Gehlot stays frosty after the aborted 2020 revolt he staged towards the veteran chief which gave short-term jitters to the get together.

Pilot is alleged to be restive once more and looking for a better function for himself within the state.

His supporters insist a change within the authorities management is important to neutralise what they name anti-incumbency sentiments towards the Gehlot authorities forward of the 2023 meeting ballot.

Dislodging Gehlot, a frontrunner with appreciable mass assist, in favour of Pilot is, nevertheless, simpler mentioned than performed.

The BJP, in the meantime, has upped the ante towards the state authorities over the killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal by assailants with claimed hyperlinks to a radical islamist outfit in Pakistan.

Any public notion of the Congress authorities going smooth on the perpetrators can be on the get together’s peril.

Congress leaders suspect the Udaipur incident might result in extra polarisation and spell extra bother for the beleaguered get together.

The Congress’ election chest should even have develop into lighter with the lack of states like Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and now Maharashtra.

Even in resource-rich Jharkhand, the ruling JMM has been inflicting bother.

It didn’t spare for the Congress a Rajya Sabha seat lately and has saved the get together guessing over extending assist to opposition presidential nominee Yashwant Sinha.

With elections due in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka later subsequent yr, the Congress might want to get again to the drafting board to rethink its course lest it loses even Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, a probably calamitous prospect.