By George Joseph, IANS,
New Delhi : The election rout in one Lok Sabha and three assembly seats across four states is a serious blow to the Congress, which is worried that the anti-Congress sentiment may grow further.
Party leaders who spoke to IANS on the condition of anonymity say the Congress had not expected a complete washout and that the results were not a good sign for the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Political analysts agreed, saying the losses in the Hisar Lok Sabha seat in Haryana and in Khadakwasla (Maharashtra), Banswada (Andhra Pradesh) and Daraunda (Bihar) reflected national public mood.
“The results were not fully unexpected but it is not good for the Congress or UPA,” a senior party leader said. “There was some hope in Khadakvasla but that also did not work.”
The Congress core committee will discuss the results here Friday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returns from South Africa.
A later meeting of the extended Congress Working Committee will assess the by-election results and plan a strategy for the coming assembly polls, especially in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress, another leader said, was worried that regional forces had shown their clout in the Oct 13 by-elections whose results came out Monday.
In Hisar, Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) came on top, going past the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The Congress finished a distant third and its candidate forfeited his security deposit.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), banking on the pro-Telangana wave, won in Banswada. The TRS was once a Congress ally.
The Congress licked its wounds in Daraunda. And its ally the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was worsted by the BJP in Khadakwasla, the one place where a victory had been expected.
Backing the BJP were the Shiv Sena and the Republican Party of India.
“The results are not good for the Congress though none of the four seats were held by the party,” said Mridula Mukherjee, professor in New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.
“The setback is indicative of the public mood. People are fed up with rising prices and corruption,” she said.
Added Kerala-based political pundit B.R.P. Bhaskar: “Congress has been mauled badly. This is certainly a reflection of the growing disenchantment of the public towards the Congress government.”
With five states, Uttar Pradesh included, set to elect new assemblies, the result could not have come at a worse time.
Although no state result will affect the UPA’s majority in the Lok Sabha, some Congress strategists are worried that smaller allies may move over to the BJP if it keeps losing similar elections.
Already, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati has warned of an early general election. Some BJP leaders concur with this assessment.
However, both Congress leaders and analysts were unanimous that the Anna campaign was not the determining factor in Hisar.
One party leader told IANS: “Anna supporters’ campaign was not a major element but it grabbed national attention and created a psychological tide against the Congress.”
Mukherjee agreed: “It cannot be said that the Anna campaign turned the tables in Hisar.”
Mukherjee, however, pointed out one plus factor for the Congress: lack of opposition unity.
“Right now there is no unity among the opposition parties. Even within the BJP there is no unity,” she said.
And the Left, though bruised after losing power in West Bengal, will never shake hands with the BJP and vice-versa. As for the BSP, no one appears to know what it wants and who it will ally with.