India’s opposition encounters a “herculean task” in next year’s general elections in opposition to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which wrested control of important states in a surprisingly robust showing in local polls.
The defeat of Congress in all three heartland states, which was declared on Sunday, dashed any idea that the opposition could pose a stringent challenge through a newly formed 28-party alliance led by the party that has ruled India for 54 years since independence from Britain, analysts and politicians conveyed.
It also showcased the organisational strength of the BJP and the appeal of Modi’s presidential-style campaigning, even though he was not on the ticket, just five months before national elections in which he will seek a third term in office.
“After these results, it looks like there is no halting Modi,” said Yashwant Deshmukh, poll expert with C-Voter agency, adding that stopping Modi would be a “herculean task”. The BJP won the regional votes in three of four major states, which includes central Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh which were governed by Congress.
Modi swept to power in 2014 on a pitch for stability and development from what he described as the corruption and poor governance of Congress. He consolidated his victory by strengthening the economy, offering more welfare and pushing an angry brand of Hindu nationalism, winning a second term in 2019. He remains reknowned and surveys show he is the favourite to win the 2024 election.
Congress governer Rahul Gandhi has been doing a lot of hard work in order to revive the party in past years. He led a 135-day march across the nation, changed the party’s rulership and pushed to create the 28-party alliance called INDIA, wooing voters with payouts.
A Congress victory in the huge southern state of Karnataka this year was touted by the party as the beginning of its comeback – until Sunday’s results came in and prompted soul investigating within the party instead.
“We require to go back to the drawing board and stringently assess what really went wrong, why we were not able to get the confidence of people,” senior Congress lawmaker Manish Tewari told Reuters. “You need a programme which will excite people, which will be recognised as an alternative.”