NEW DELHI: The assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were perceived as a prestige battle for Rahul Gandhi, who took over the reign of the party from her mother in December last year. The polls were also seen as the major test for the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre before it seeks a second term in the crucial national vote next year. With strong performances in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the Congress has recovered from being down in the dumps in 2014 to a position where it is believed to be posing a credible challenge to the NDA in 2019. And this would not have come at a better time for Rahul Gandhi, who completes one year in office next week.

Under Gandhi's leadership, Congress has improved its performance in Gujarat and won several by-elections in Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh but failed to live up to its reputation and was cornered by dominating performances by the NDA. But results/trends of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will not only strengthen the Congress' prospect in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections but will serve as a morale booster for the party cadre, which looked in shambles since it was struck by the Modi wave in 2014.

What worked for the Congress in these three states is its campaign strategy. Gandhi led the campaign and held 27 rallies in MP, 24 in Rajasthan and 19 in Chhattisgarh. He seemed focused in electioneering. On the other hand, the BJP suffered a huge loss in states where Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed fewer gatherings. Modi held 10 rallies in MP, 13 in Rajasthan and five in Chhattisgarh.

Tuesday's results will help the Congress to push the narrative of 'Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi' in 2019 instead of 'Narendra Modi vs Opposition'. Congress' revival in this stage will also mark its comeback at the national level under Gandhi.

The apparent reason for the self-assurance probably has less to do with wide popular approval for the Congress than with the affliction of the anti-incumbency factor for the BJP.

If the Congress is benefitting from the BJP's discomfiture, it means that the party has been largely able to overcome the damaging taint on its reputation as a result of the multiple scams and the government's policy paralysis which brought it crashing down four years ago.

It is not that public memory is short, but the experiences of some of the government's present inadequacies are stronger. Among them is the continuing joblessness, whose impact is perhaps all the greater because it was the promise of a buoyant economy fostering employment which was behind the BJP's success in the last general election.

Along with unemployment, it is possible that the dismay among the middle-class caused by the troubles affecting well-regarded institutions like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been damaging for the BJP.

(With inputs from IANS)