Can A Revived Congress Beat Modi Magic And 'Mama'? What Lies Ahead For The Party In MP

The Congress looks resolute on toppling the BJP government in MP, but faced with the Modi magic and poll strategies of the saffron party, here's what lies ahead for the party.

The Congress looks resolute on toppling the BJP government in MP, but faced with the Modi magic and poll strategies of the saffron party, here's what lies ahead for the party.

Source : PTI

Locked in a bitter battle with the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, a resurgent Congress is pulling all stops to topple the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government. Soaring to power in 2018 with 114 seats, and a setback in 2020 that led to the BJP's return, the Congress now is all set to take on the BJP with renewed vigour and strategies and is relying on issues centred on corruption, jobs, tribals, farmers and women.

In 2020, MLAs backing now Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia switched sides, bringing the Congress government down in the state. 

However, the Congress is now playing on the front foot with the recent win in Karnataka has given the party a much-needed morale boost.

Here's a look at what works for the party and what poses challenges.

With a rise in the vote share from 20 per cent two decades ago to 40 per cent in 2018 and coupled with Kamal Nath's political acumen in the face of BJP's Hindutva-centric politics -- reflected in the cancellation of the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting in the state after the row of Sanatan Dharma -- the party looks set to give a tough battle to the BJP.

What could also add to the strength of the Congress is that over the last few months, many BJP leaders joined the party. It is also expected to gain support in the 47 seats reserved for STs and had won 30 of them in the last state polls.

WEAKNESSES

It's not going to be a cakewalk for the party either in the presence of a robust organisation structure like the BJP which the Congress lacks.

The absence of Scindia is also likely to hurt the party in the Gwalior-Chambal region where it emerged victorious in 26 of 34 seats in 2018. The tally here declined to 16 after the bypolls when the Scindia loyalists jumped ship.

The Congress also good not win 66 seats in the state in the past few elections and the BJP's decision to announce candidates even before the schedule was announced also made the party appear apprehensive about factionalism.

The saffron party digging up former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh’s tenure with claims of bad infrastructure, and power supply to haunt Congress ahead of the polls could also add the to party's list of weaknesses.

OPPORTUNITIES

But there are ample opportunities for the Congress as well with the anti-incumbency threat facing BJP after being at the helm for 18 years.

Armed with charges of unemployment, VYAPAM (recruitment) scams and alleged irregularities in Patwari exams, wranglings within the state unit of BJP also promise a good pitch for the Congress in this electoral battle.

THREATS

Even though the BJP has its share of struggles to overcome, the party has been able to maintain a 40-plus per cent vote share, barring a nominal dip in 2008.

In addition to its robust organisation structure, the poll machine has been further fuelled by the many visits of PM Modi and master strategist Amit Shah who has been credited for turning the party into an election-winning juggernaut.

In addition, the BJP's move to line up veteran politicians like Narendra Singh Tomar, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Prahlad Patel and the likely projection to have a new chief minister to counter the anti-incumbency could weigh heavily on the grand old party.

Even though AAP has not gone all out in Rajasthan, there is still a chance that the party along with AIMIM could divide the support base of Congress.