State Congress chief Ashok Chavan in Mumbai on Tuesday. (Express Phtoto by Amit Chakravarty)WHILE THE Congress continues to grapple with infighting in the state, leaders said on Tuesday that the win for the party in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls will see it regain credibility in Maharashtra as well.
Buoyed by Tuesday’s verdict, state Congress president Ashok Chavan said that the BJP’s ‘ghar wapsi’ in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls is now a certainty. “The poll outcome shows the direction in which the winds are blowing. In 2019, India will have a Congress-led government at the Centre under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership,” Chavan said.
He added: “Citizens have sent out a clear cut message. Modiji jaanewalen hain… Rahulji aanewale hain. (Modi will be voted out of power. Rahul Gandhi will be voted in).”
Claiming that the BJP governments, both at the Centre and in the state, had failed to live up to their promises, Chavan said that the Fadnavis government will also be unseated in 2019.
“The winds of change are also blowing in the state. The Fadnavis government has only a few months left. Even in Maharashtra, a Congress-led government will come to power,” he added.
Requesting anonymity, senior state Congress leaders said that the big wins in the three states would enhance the party’s bargaining power in seat-sharing talks with former ally NCP, and other smaller parties in the Opposition. In the run-up to the 2019 polls, the Congress and the NCP have been holding talks with smaller parties in the state to cobble up a state-level umbrella alliance against the BJP.
In certain parts of the state, NCP workers were seen celebrating the Congress victories in the three states.
NCP president Sharad Pawar said, “The election results indicate that people do not tolerate arrogance.”
NCP’s Dhananjay Munde, also the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council, said: “The poll outcome is a clear indicator that the BJP’s defeat in 2019 is certain.”
