Congress kept banking on the anti-incumbency against the BJP.
NEW DELHI
The Madhya Pradesh Assembly election results, where the BJP swept back to power with 165 seats came as a shock to the Congress, which won 65 seats. Sources say that the results proved that all of Kamal Nath’s strategies had flopped miserably. The BJP, which looked vulnerable on account of its 18-year rule got its act together with remarkable swiftness and scored a historic victory.
The Sunday Guardian interacted with several political observers in Madhya Pradesh who said that the grand old Party had taken the election lightly. They thought that they would be able to encash in on the anti-incumbency against the BJP as they did in 2018. This might be the reason behind its marginal presence on the ground. On the other hand, the BJP took it as a fight to the finish. The Congress also failed to convey its message to a large section of the voters.
“Congress leaders were barely visible on the ground. It was no surprise then that the party failed to effectively communicate its promises and programmes to a large section of the voters, be it caste-based census, free education, or subsidised gas cylinders,” said a political observer who teaches at the Jabalpur University. On the condition of anonymity, he said, “On the other hand, the BJP communicated its message loud and clear to the larger section of voters. Their Ladli Behna Yojana was immensely popular across the state.” He added that the BJP’s victory was due to the “charismatic leadership” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the strategy and management of Home Minister Amit Shah and the Ladli Behna Yojana.
Another political observer commented that two factors led to the Congress’ crushing defeat in the election. One was ideological overlapping on Hindutva. Another was the party’s projection of faces such as Kamal Nath (77) and Digvijaya Singh (76). He added, “This election has also taught a useful lesson to the Congress, which is playing the Hindutva card on the BJP’s pitch can prove to be a recipe for disaster.”
“Both Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh tightly supervised and executed most election-related decisions in the state Congress, leaving little room for interference from the younger lot. While acutely conscious of the duo’s access with the high command, all others fell in line,” said a source from the party. He added that the party failed to capture the mood of voters.
Jitendra Patel, a Congress supporter, said that the Congress party had lost this election because of their overconfidence. They kept banking on the anti-incumbency against the BJP. He added that Congress leaders were barely present on the ground, whereas BJP leaders were present on the ground, including PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Another supporter of the Congress party, Dhanraj Kumar, said, “We lacked on doing rallies; we had only two star pracharaks, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Whereas the others had a full team from the Centre, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party president J.P. Nadda, and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. They had done continuous rallies to woo the voters.”