Election results: Congress takes 'swachh bharat' jibe at BJP's drubbing in three states

Victories in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have come at the right time for the Congress party as the nation in coming months will swing into election mood, this time for the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha polls due in April-May next year.

The Congress' performance three Hindi heartland states has not only improved its chances in the general elections but also changed the political map of India, which had turned 'saffron' due to the NDA's landslide victories in assembly polls since 2014. Photo: INCIndia

NEW DELHI: Victories in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have come at the right time for the Congress party as the nation in coming months will swing into election mood, this time for the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha polls due in April-May next year. The Congress' performance three Hindi heartland states has not only improved its chances in the general elections but also changed the political map of India, which had turned 'saffron' due to the NDA's landslide victories in assembly polls since 2014. The BJP which was ruling in 19 states across the country before these elections now has 16 states in its tally. Referring to the BJP's drubbing in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Congress on Wednesday took a 'swachh bharat' (clean India) jibe as it posted a 'new' political map, which was previously splashed with saffron, with the 'blue' of Congress making a spectacular come back. The Congress is now in power in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Karnataka and union territory of Puducherry.

India ka naya Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. #CongressWinsBIG pic.twitter.com/dgCzz6lUOY

— Congress (@INCIndia) December 12, 2018

For the moment, the Congress has stemmed its electoral decline by sweeping Chhattisgarh and edging out the BJP in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, signalling its preparedness for 2019 elections which are building up as a "BJP-versus-all" battle. The fact that it just missed the majority mark on its own in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh underscores the continuing importance of bringing allies on board. In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress had to seek the support of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) both to form a government and in Rajasthan also the Congress had to seek the support of two independent MLAs to reach the majority mark in the 200-member state assembly. Congress president Rahul Gandhi appears to be conscious of the relevance of workable anti-BJP coalitions for challenging the BJP in 2019 and said in his victory speech that a resurgent Congress and a combined opposition will make a difference to defeat the BJP. How the political map of India had turned saffron Before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP was in power in five states — Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Nagaland. But riding on the Modi wave, the saffron party continued its winning streak assembly elections that followed. The list of states where the Congress has lost power since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to office and Amit Shah became BJP president had got longer with the fall of Himachal Pradesh in December last year. The saffron party was then controlling 19 states. Under Modi and Shah, the BJP has ousted the Congress from power in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Assam, Uttarakhand, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. In Goa and Manipur, which threw up hung assemblies, it got fewer seats than the Congress but managed to form governments by stitching up alliances with smaller parties and independents. Besides Tuesday's results, the states where the Congress has won during this period are Punjab and Karnataka.