Editorial: A mixed bag

Congress’ poor showing in the northern States coculd dent its position in the I.N.D.I.A alliance

Touted as semi-finals ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the verdict in the Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana has come as a mixed bag. The incumbent governments were voted out in all but Madhya Pradesh where the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has bucked the anti-incumbency trend and romped home with a landslide victory. In Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the ‘double engine sarkar’ slogan of the BJP appears to have clicked and led to the saffron party wresting the two States from Congress. In Telangana, the people have voted for change. Though the BRS government has been a role model in the country in implementing a slew of welfare schemes, including free power for farmers, Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu and pensions for the old, and put up a consistently creditable performance in agriculture, irrigation and infrastructure sectors, it was unable to overcome the anti-incumbency factor. The BRS leadership has spoken about going back to the drawing board and initiating certain course corrections to regain the people’s confidence. It must take the electoral setback in its stride, viewing it as a bump in its long journey since starting the statehood movement over two decades ago. A key message from the Telangana mandate is that welfarism and development alone cannot ensure victory at the hustings. The palpable resentment against some of the local MLAs appears to have done significant damage to the ruling party, a factor that is bound to engage the attention of the party leadership when it sits down to analyse the reasons for the defeat.

The resounding victories in the three heartland States come as a major boost for the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The grand old party’s fears of infighting scuttling its prospects have come true in Rajasthan where the Ashok Gehlot’s government has been voted out. Despite the party’s attempts to show a united front, the power tussle between Gehlot and Sachin Pilot — the long-standing rivals — has turned out to be its undoing. The BJP has sprung a surprise in Chhattisgarh, where all exit polls had predicted a Congress victory in the tribal-dominated State. The day started with the Congress leading, but the BJP kept narrowing the gap and took a massive lead as the counting progressed. The Congress’ poor showing in this round of Assembly polls in the northern States is expected to dent its position in the I.N.D.I.A alliance, a joint political formation to take on the NDA. It is clear that the Congress’ pitch for caste census did not resonate with the voters in the Hindi heartland, as the OBC strongholds have gone into the BJP’s kitty. In areas dominated by the Scheduled Castes and Tribes across Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the saffron party has made inroads. The voting pattern in these States shows that women and tribal voters have overwhelmingly supported the BJP.

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