NEW DELHI: The Congress suffered a jolt on Monday, when results of the byelections poured in from different states. It managed to win only two seats in Gujarat, lost one of its seats to BJP in Madhya Pradesh and in Uttarakhand, it could not stop BJP from securing a majority in the assembly. The party, however, retained its seat in Andhra Pradesh.
Of all the losses, Gujarat would irritate Congress the most. Not only is the state on Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s revival map, he had recently visited parts of Gujarat before Congress’ membership drive and the youth Congress elections.
Moreover, with Mr Modi coming under pressure after the Lok Sabha elections, when BJP only managed to win 15 of the 26 parliamentary seats in the state, and the reversal suffered by the party in its stronghold of Junagarh , the bypoll results were being considered an important indicator of BJP’s and Mr Modi’s popularity.
If Congress had managed to retain its seats — Jasdan, Chotila, Dehgam, Danta and Sami — then it would have been seen as big boost for the party, which has been trying to revive its fortunes after Mr Modi took over. Of the two seats the Congress won, it managed to retain Dhoraji and wrested the Kondinar constituency from BJP.
Congress’ performance immediately spurred a blame-game, with state leaders blaming the result on poor candidate selection. Congress had given tickets to children of leaders in Jasdan, Chotila, and Dhoraji. The party could only win in Dhoraji. In Sami and Dehgam, state leaders claimed Congress had chosen outsiders over local candidates. Congress leadership in the state accepted the results were rather disappointing.
“The results of the byelections are not as per our expectations. We will undertake a detailed analysis in the coming days to see what went wrong,” Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Siddharth Patel said. He added the results should be examined in the context of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, which showed Congress losing hold over seats where byelections were held.
“The results from the other states have shown that the ruling party always has an edge in byelections,” Mr Patel said, adding that “local conditions and local factors” had contributed to Congress’ defeat.
Congress at the Centre tried to downplay the losses. “One set of byelection losses should not be treated as conclusive or even indicative (of the political trend) in any manner,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said. While accepting that Monday’s results were not “encouraging”, Mr Singhvi said the results of the Lok Sabha and the assembly elections told different stories.
Congress also lost the Tendukheda seat in Madhya Pradesh even as it managed to defend Gohad. In Uttarakhand , Congress was unable to defeat BJP in Vikasnagar. With this win, BJP’s tally now stands at 36 in the 70-member assembly. Congress had also lost the other bypoll to the Kapkot seat, which had became vacant after former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
In Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim, the ruling Congress and Sikkim Democratic Front, respectively, won Tekkali and Namchi-Singhithang seats.
Of all the losses, Gujarat would irritate Congress the most. Not only is the state on Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s revival map, he had recently visited parts of Gujarat before Congress’ membership drive and the youth Congress elections.
Moreover, with Mr Modi coming under pressure after the Lok Sabha elections, when BJP only managed to win 15 of the 26 parliamentary seats in the state, and the reversal suffered by the party in its stronghold of Junagarh , the bypoll results were being considered an important indicator of BJP’s and Mr Modi’s popularity.
If Congress had managed to retain its seats — Jasdan, Chotila, Dehgam, Danta and Sami — then it would have been seen as big boost for the party, which has been trying to revive its fortunes after Mr Modi took over. Of the two seats the Congress won, it managed to retain Dhoraji and wrested the Kondinar constituency from BJP.
Congress’ performance immediately spurred a blame-game, with state leaders blaming the result on poor candidate selection. Congress had given tickets to children of leaders in Jasdan, Chotila, and Dhoraji. The party could only win in Dhoraji. In Sami and Dehgam, state leaders claimed Congress had chosen outsiders over local candidates. Congress leadership in the state accepted the results were rather disappointing.
“The results of the byelections are not as per our expectations. We will undertake a detailed analysis in the coming days to see what went wrong,” Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Siddharth Patel said. He added the results should be examined in the context of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, which showed Congress losing hold over seats where byelections were held.
“The results from the other states have shown that the ruling party always has an edge in byelections,” Mr Patel said, adding that “local conditions and local factors” had contributed to Congress’ defeat.
Congress at the Centre tried to downplay the losses. “One set of byelection losses should not be treated as conclusive or even indicative (of the political trend) in any manner,” Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said. While accepting that Monday’s results were not “encouraging”, Mr Singhvi said the results of the Lok Sabha and the assembly elections told different stories.
Congress also lost the Tendukheda seat in Madhya Pradesh even as it managed to defend Gohad. In Uttarakhand , Congress was unable to defeat BJP in Vikasnagar. With this win, BJP’s tally now stands at 36 in the 70-member assembly. Congress had also lost the other bypoll to the Kapkot seat, which had became vacant after former chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
In Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim, the ruling Congress and Sikkim Democratic Front, respectively, won Tekkali and Namchi-Singhithang seats.
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