New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) Redemption and revival would be the watchwords for the Congress as it gets battle-ready for the next round of assembly polls, vying to wrest back Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.
The opposition party would also look to put up a decent showing in Tamil Nadu, where its dominant partner DMK is looking to retain power.
In West Bengal, it is a question of survival for the Congress as it battles to stay relevant after drawing a blank in the last Assembly polls. The real contest in the state seems to be between the ruling TMC and the BJP, with the Congress and the Left driven to the margins.
Therefore, the high stakes for the Congress are in Kerala and Assam, where they have been out of power for a decade but remain the principal opposition party.
In Puducherry, the party is seeking to wrest power from the ruling AINRC-BJP coalition.
Off the blocks early, the Congress has announced candidates on 65 seats in Assam and has also left 15 seats for allies.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi is working behind the scenes to get the party in form for the fray in Assam.
The elections assume greater significance for the Congress as it comes after the Bihar polls debacle for the party.
The Congress posted its second-worst performance in Bihar’s electoral history, managing to win only six of the over 50 seats it contested and losing deposits in most seats as its ‘vote chori’ pitch failed to make any impact on the ground.
The scale of its debacle was such that the party could manage to just finish ahead of Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), which bagged five seats each.
The Congress tally was only better than the four seats it won in 2010, getting a vote share of only 8.75 per cent compared to the 8.17 per cent 15 years ago.
For a few years now, the Congress has been losing to the BJP in direct fights (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana) and has remained at best a peripheral or smallest player in coalitions elsewhere, such as in Jharkhand.
In Kerala, the Congress is facing the challenge of uniting various factions and capitalising on the anti-incumbency against the LDF.
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, said the UDF will contest the elections as a united team.
“It is the team UDF that is facing the election. We will return to power with over 100 seats,” he said.
Satheesan said there are no differences within the Congress or the UDF over seat sharing.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said the campaign period is very short as per the election schedule.
“In between, there will be Holy Week, and the election is scheduled a few days before the Vishu festival. In practical terms, there are very limited days for campaigning,” he said.
He also said that it was unusual for the Election Commission to schedule the polls in such a short duration.
All the same, Venugopal asserted that the Congress is ready for the election.
“UDF will strongly move forward to end the misgovernance of the LDF in Kerala. The people of Kerala are awaiting it,” he said.
Venugopal added that the Congress candidate list would be finalised within one or two days.
Assam Congress media department chairman Bedabrata Bora said the party is fully prepared for the elections.
“We already had an inkling that it would be a single-phase election in the first quarter of April. Our preparations were on in that line, and we are ready for it,” he said.
The Election Commission announced on Sunday that assembly elections in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be held on a single day on April 9, in Tamil Nadu on April 23 and in two phases in West Bengal on April 23 and 29, while votes will be counted for all polls on May 4.
Compared to eight voting days spread across almost a month in 2021, there will be three polling days in 20 days in these elections, which will see the BJP trying to retain power in Assam, while it will be pitted against the ruling parties in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Puducherry is governed by an NDA partner, the All India N R Congress.
A total of 17.4 crore voters are eligible to vote in the elections to five assemblies with 824 constituencies.
The model code of conduct has come into effect immediately with the announcement of the poll schedule.
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala are currently ruled by opposition DMK, Trinamool Congress and Left Front, respectively.
There are 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu where DMK leader M K Stalin has been the chief minister since 2021.
West Bengal has a total of 294 assembly seats with TMC leader Mamata Banerjee in power since 2011.
Kerala has 140 seats, and Left leader Pinarayi Vijayan has been the chief minister since 2016, leading the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
In Assam, there are 126 assembly seats, and the BJP has been in power in the Northeastern state since 2016. Himanta Biswa Sarma has been the chief minister since 2021.
Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy has been in power since 2021. The UT has a total of 30 seats where polling will take place.
The term of the assembly will come to an end in West Bengal on May 7, in Tamil Nadu on May 10, in Assam on May 20, in Kerala on May 23, and in Puducherry on June 15. PTI ASK VN VN
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