Former Haryana CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda upon his arrival to address the media regarding the Haryana Assembly election results, in Rohtak, on October 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Assembly election results in Haryana are “surprising, against popular sentiment and cannot be accepted”, the Congress said on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) after it suffered a shock defeat in the north Indian State for the third time in a row.
Questioning the “integrity” of the counting process at a press conference, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh and his colleague, Pawan Khera, alleged that party candidates lost from constituencies where the batteries of the electronic voting machines displayed “99% battery life” as against 60-70%. There were 12 to 14 constituencies from where complaints were received and the party would take these up with the Election Commission, they added.
Haryana Assembly Election results LIVE updates
“The Congress has not lost, but was made to lose. One has not heard the last on the Haryana results,” Mr. Ramesh said, adding, “Under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept these results (in Haryana)… there are serious issues raised by our candidates which we will raise with the EC.”
On the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) results, Mr. Ramesh said: “People have given a befitting reply to those who trampled upon J&K’s respect by taking away its statehood. The NC-Congress government will make all efforts for the restoration of J&K’s statehood.”
But the shock defeat in Haryana and a below par performance in J&K, contrary to exit poll projections, raises questions about its immediate as well as long term political implications.
The Haryana loss has put a pause to the narrative that the Congress, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, is on the path of revival. Since 2018, Himachal Pradesh is the only State in north India that the Congress has won, and the latest setback will have an impact on the party’s poll prospects in Delhi and Punjab.
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But the most immediate fallout would be the party’s position within the Maha Vikas Aghadhi (MVA) before the Assembly polls in Maharashtra, where it emerged as the single largest party in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Amid reports that the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena is looking to contest the maximum number of seats in the upcoming election and eyeing the chief ministerial position, the Haryana setback leaves very little elbow room to drive a hard bargain during seat-sharing talks.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi pointed how the Congress once again lost against the BJP in a direct fight despite anti-incumbency in Haryana. “The coalition dharma says that allies should talk to each other and not through the media,” Mr. Ramesh responded.
In Jharkhand too, where the Congress is part of the ruling alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the party would have to play a secondary role.
Campaign narrative fails
The focus of Congress campaign on ‘kisan, jawan aur pehelewan (farmers, soldiers and wrestlers)‘ to highlight the issues of farmers, opposition of the youth to Agniveer scheme in the armed forces and mishandling of protesting women wrestlers, failed to take off.
Watch: Analysing the Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election results
“All these issues were also the issues of the Jat community and they didn’t gain traction among the non-Jat voters,” said a senior leader, involved in the Haryana campaign. If the BJP gained from a perceived consolidation of non-Jat votes, reports that party veteran and Dalit leader Kumari Selja has been sidelined by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda reinforced an image that the Congress was primarily a Jat party.
Like Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh and Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh, over-reliance on Mr. Hooda’s leadership and complacency among party workers cost the party. “It will not be business as usual in Haryana and I am sure the Congress high command would identify those who negated the efforts to bring the party to power after 10 years,” Ms. Selja told reporters.
Published – October 08, 2024 09:55 pm IST