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MOSL: INDIA POLITICS-Congress makes strong gains in Hindi heartland; Will the government turn more populist ahead of the 2019 finale?

India Politics: Congress makes strong gains in Hindi heartland; Will the government turn more populist ahead of the 2019 finale?

 

• In what had been touted as ‘semi-finals’ ahead of the Lok Sabha polls of 2019, Congress has made strong gains against the BJP in three (Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh) out of the five states that went to polls. The party, however, lost its last bastion in north-east – Mizoram – where MNF won with around two-thirds majority. TRS’ gamble to call for early election has paid off as it retained Telangana with a thumping majority. Barring MP, the other four states have been bestowed clear mandate by the electorate, with more than two-thirds majority for the winning party in three of the five states.
• One of the key takeaways from the election outcome is the strong comeback of Congress in the Hindi heartland belt, where the BJP had enjoyed unparalleled dominance for long. Interestingly, post 2014, Congress has emerged triumphant for the first time in a direct contest with the BJP in state polls.
• However, in MP, it has been a neck-to-neck fight with the tally at 110-113 for BJP - Congress (counting still in progress – results of 63/230 seats yet to be declared). In Rajasthan, while opinion polls had indicated a clear majority to Congress, the final results show that the party has not swept the polls but just managed to scrape through winning 99/199 seats; ‘others’ managed to win 27/199 seats.
• The other broader takeaway from the 2019 Lok Sabha election perspective pertains to Telangana. TRS has swept the election with three-fourths majority, convincingly outperforming the grand alliance (Mahagathbandhan) of opposition parties. This may result in several changes in the opposition’s strategy of forging state-wise alliances.