Poll results since 2018 puncture Rahul's claim that Congress is only alternative to BJP

NEW DELHI: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's claim during the 'Chintan Shivir' meet in Udaipur that it is the only alternative to the BJP/RSS has come under fire as the party's electoral performance shows it has lost 19 state assembly polls since 2018, many to regional players that are taking over the space once occupied by it.

The data shows that of the eight states that went to the polls in 2018, the Congress won three key states – Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It was one of the best performances since the 2014 Lok Sabha debacle and the credit was given to leadership of Rahul Gandhi, who took over as party chief in 2017.

However, since then, the party has not won any assembly elections while it formed governments as a junior partner in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. In all, the grand old party lost 19 state assembly elections between 2019 and March 2022.

Rahul’s comments also invited criticism from several regional players who said that the Congress leader should first assess his own party’s condition.

The JMM, which is an ally of the Congress in the coalition government in Jharkhand, called it Rahul’s self-assessment. “He is entitled to his opinion, but who gave him the authority to comment on ideology? How are we running the party without any ideology?” the party said.

The Congress has suffered big losses to regional players like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), who are in the process of occupying space at its expense. The most recent example is Punjab, where the AAP recorded a sweeping victory after the Congress leadership in the state was engaged in infighting. The AAP is looking to expand its footprint in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where elections are due later this year.          

Calling it unfortunate, the RJD, the party's ally in Bihar, was of the opinion that had the former Congress president been mindful of the outcome of poll fights against the BJP, he would have realised “the ideological and electoral commitment that is brought by such regional outfits, which he said do not have the capacity”.

The party also saw a humiliating defeat in the Kerala assembly elections last year, with the Left parties coming back for a record second term in the state. At the recent CPI (M) party Congress, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury spoke about a weakened Congress and how the party is not seen as an electoral threat by the BJP/RSS.