The Congress and the INDIA bloc lost the just-concluded General Election to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), but the way the numbers eventually panned out, has given them the air of the victor as the heroic defenders of democracy.
By ensuring that BJP, far from crossing 400 a target the latter set itself plummeted from the 303 it had won in 2019 to 239, more than 30 seats less than the halfway mark, has ensured BJP will now be dependent on its NDA allies.
The BJP leadership will now have to adopt a more consensual approach, and the reduced numbers of his party in Parliament will ensure that he will not be able to alter the Constitution or push through legislation that does not have the support of the opposition. It is because of these reasons that the Congress and the INDIA partners look like saviours, if not victors.
The Congress that after leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for a decade (2004-2014) shrank to a paltry 44 seats in 2014, and climbed merely to 52 in 2019, the current result (100 seats at the time of writing) is a clear sign of a revival. It has been triggered as much by the two yatras that Rahul Gandhi undertook across the length and breadth of the country that rejuvenated the party base.
This was possible because of the effectiveness with which the Congress was able to ensure that its narrative highlighting the economic distress in the country triggered by a lack of employment opportunities combined with inflation, and dangers to the Constitution and democracy resonated on the ground.
In the states, the manner in which the Congress took a backseat to stronger state-based parties, such as the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, or the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) in Maharashtra or the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu while undertaking a sharing of seats ensured that the Opposition has done extremely well in these three states.
Rahul Gandhi has won both his seats Raebareli in UP and Wayanad in Kerala convincingly and has now the air of a real national leader indeed, he has earned his spurs in this election. His sister Priyanka Gandhi camped in Amethi and ensured the victory of Kishori Lal Sharma who had, for the last few decades, taken care of the twin constituencies of Amethi and Raebareli for the Gandhi family.
The message that the Congress sent out here was that it rewarded loyalty. On Tuesday evening, when asked whether the INDIA. bloc was going to contact the BJP's allies and make a bid for power, he answered diplomatically: “We are having a meeting of the INDIA bloc tomorrow. After that, we will let you know.”
If the Congress has played a key role in containing if not defeating the BJP three other INDIA Bloc leaders have played stellar roles. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stood her ground. She ensured that the Trinamool Congress won 29 seats, though the BJP ran an aggressive campaign in the state. The BJP dropped five seats, stopping at 12.
NCP-SP boss Sharad Pawar stitched up effective alliances in Maharashtra to ensure an excellent showing just as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin did in Tamil Nadu.
The writer is a senior journalist
