Congress Allies On Warpath After Haryana Loss

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Haryana Election Results: Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray (File).

New Delhi:

Allies’ reviews of the Congress’s dismal show in the Haryana Assembly election are in – and they do not make for pleasant reading, with the party criticised for managing to defy exit poll predictions to lose.

Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction –  to contest the Maharashtra election due this year alongside the Congress and the NCP – has been severe, with an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana flaying its ally for failing to accommodate alliance partners like the AAP or control the “disobedience of local leaders”.

The Saamana editorial also lamented its ally’s ability to “turn a winning innings into a defeat”.

The Congress’ Maharashtra chief responded swiftly, objecting to the editorial.

“Haryana and Maharashtra have different political backgrounds… Maharashtra has the ideology of (Jyotirao) Phule and (Dr Babasaheb) Ambedkar. We will perform better…” Nana Patole said.

Mr Patole also objected to statements by Sena strongman Sanjay Raut. “I don’t know on what basis he said this. You cannot put such comments on the alliance in public… We absolutely object…”

Sena’s Saamana Scolding

The Sena criticism was stinging. Among other red flags it pointed to a lack of alliances – which were key to the Congress-led anti-BJP bloc’s improved showing in the April-June Lok Sabha election.

“No INDIA gathbandhan in Haryana… Congress leaders were overconfident. Samajwadi Party or AAP could have been accommodated and the results would have been different,” Sanjay Raut, the Sena’s No 2 and a confidante of party boss Uddhav Thackeray, said.

The Congress – pushed by Rahul Gandhi – and the AAP held talks, but these failed. Sources said state leaders – particularly Mr Hooda and lawmakers loyal to him – refused to play ball.

The HindkeshariExplains | Why AAP-Congress Alliance Failed Before Haryana Poll

As it turned out, though, the AAP was blanked in Arvind Kejriwal’s home state; the party secured less than1.8 per cent of the votes, a share that might not have materially changed the Congress’ position.

The failure to accommodate, though, has been met with disapproval, particularly since it seems the Congress’ central leadership bowed, again, to pressure from state units resistant to change.

“This always happens with the Congress,” the Saamana said, pointing to similar circumstances that derailed what could have been successful campaigns in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh last year.

“Last time, in MP and Chhattisgarh, there was a belief BJP would not come to power… but internal disarray of the Congress proved beneficial (for the BJP),” the party mouthpiece raged.

In both states the Congress’ reliance on its war horses – Kamal Nath and Bhupesh Baghel, instead of maybe backing the younger generation of leaders – backfired and the BJP won.

Sena Questions Hooda Factor

Saamana even called out the Congress’ Haryana strongman Bhupinder Singh Hooda, arguing his reluctance to cooperate, including with fellow chief ministerial aspirant Kumari Selja, had “sunk the boat”.

“The question has arisen… did ex-Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda sink the boat in Haryana. Mr Hooda’s role seemed as if he was the mastermind… and whoever he wanted would be the candidate. Party leaders like Kumari Selja were publicly humiliated… and the Congress failed to stop him.”

READ | Infighting To Jat Focus: 5 Factors Behind Congress’s Haryana Shock

The ‘who will be Chief Minister’ clash between Mr Hooda and Ms Selja, an influential Dalit leader, has been flagged as a big reason for the Congress’ surprise slide in Haryana.

READ | “CM Decision With High Command”: Congress’ Kumari Selja To NDTV

Lok Sabha MP Kumari Selja had earlier also expressed unhappiness over candidate selection; the feeling was that most were Hooda loyalists who would back him over the party.

READ | “Should Never Be Doubt…”: Congress’ Kumari Selja On BJP Rumours

Ms Selja, meanwhile, has been called out by some for a two-week sulk that included not campaigning. She later told The Hindkeshari”there should never be doubts” about her commitment.

Not All Bad News?

But perhaps a happy note for the Congress is that Sena MP Sanjay Raut, seen as party boss Uddhav Thackeray’s right-hand man, suggested the Haryana election results may not impact ties in his state.

That said, Mr Raut did warn his allies to “learn from Haryana results”.

“No one should consider themselves a ‘bigger brother’ to someone else,” he said; the comment was seen as a reminder of a common complaint from Congress’ smaller allies.

Looking forward to the Maharashtra election the Sena editorial urged the Congress to pay attention to its grassroots, pointing to the BJP’s “strong organisation and strategy”.

“The people of Maharashtra will not follow the path of Haryana… and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (the alliance of the Thackeray Sena, the Congress, and the NCP) will win.”

“Marathi public opinion is against (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (Home Minister Amit) Shah and Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde. Our alliance will win in Maharashtra… but Congress leaders in the state have a lot to learn from Haryana.”

Meanwhile, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool – which earlier this year refused to share more than a bare minimum of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats, citing the Congress’ poor performance in earlier general and state elections – ripped into the “arrogant” INDIA bloc head.

Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale called out the Congress’ “attitude” towards seat-sharing.

“This attitude leads to electoral losses – ‘if we feel we’re winning, we will not accommodate regional party but, in states where we’re down, regional parties must accommodate us…”

“Learn!” Mr Gokhale said on X

What Happened In Haryana Election?

Exit polls predicted a win for the Congress, with the BJP expected to lose a battle to anti-incumbency and protests over multiple issues, including the farmers’ ongoing row over MSP and a furious agitation by wrestlers over sex assault claims against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

The Congress raced to an early lead as counting began but, by 10 am, the positions had reversed.

The BJP surged past its rival and never looked back, winning 48 of the state’s 90 seats.

READ | “First Time In Haryana Party Is Coming Back For 3rd Term”: PM

The Congress had to settle for 37 and must sit in the opposition for another five years.

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