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Lok Sabha Elections 2024: On one hand, BJP is contesting for the third term in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the country, while on the other hand, Congress is trying its best to maintain its existence and also to blow the wind of change. The specialty of the country's democracy is that the country's oldest political party, Congress, has now become weak in the country.
The party which was once dominant and which was welcomed by the public with a green flag, is in a pathetic condition today. Congress, which has a golden history of fielding candidates on the maximum number of seats, is now in a position to compromise with smaller and regional parties.
Congress will make a record of contesting elections on less seats
Congress, which used to contest elections on more than 500 seats, can no longer contest elections on even 300 seats. It will have to form alliances with other opposition parties to survive. Congress seats have been continuously decreasing since the last two terms. In the 2024 elections, Congress is going to make a record of contesting elections on less seats.
For the first time after independence, Congress will contest elections on so few seats in the country. Since then, except for three elections, the Congress has consistently contested fewer seats.
Elections are held on a total of 543 seats in the country. Congress has announced candidates for less than 300 seats for this 2024 election. So far, 278 Congress candidates have been announced and two-three seats in the state are yet to be announced.
In 1989, candidates stood on 510 Congress seats.
Even if we combine all these, Congress will not be able to reach 300 seats. In 1989, Congress had fielded candidates on 510 seats. After that there has been a continuous decline. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections also, Congress had fielded candidates on 421 seats. Now this figure is going below 300.
Other opposition parties are putting pressure on Congress regarding seat sharing.
Due to the shameful defeat of Congress in the last two Lok Sabhas, its political importance has suddenly started decreasing. Other opposition and regional parties which are with Congress are also suppressing Congress. The opposition has formed Bharat Alliance to defeat BJP in 2024, but the role of Congress is only as a big name.
In the seat distribution, the opposition ally has kept the reins in its hands and is suppressing the Congress. Political analysts believe that other opposition parties are taking full advantage of Congress's helplessness and Congress is left with no option but to exert pressure.
After the crushing defeat in 2014 and 2019, the depleted Congress has made a big move this time to form the India Alliance, but the reins are not in anyone's hands. If we look at the big states in this alliance, Congress has not got any significant seats.
Out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Congress has been given only 17 seats. Similarly, in Maharashtra too, Shiv Sena and NCP have given support and alliance to Congress but have not given more seats.
Even in Maharashtra, Congress has been given only 17 seats out of 48. Similarly, only nine out of 40 seats have been given in Bihar, nine out of 39 in Tamil Nadu and only 13 out of 42 in West Bengal.
Mamata in Bengal and Left in Kerala did not join hands with Congress
Congress formed India Alliance so that the opposition could unite and defeat BJP. Under this, an attempt was made to form an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, but Congress did not like it.
There was talk of Aam Aadmi Party contesting the elections alone in Punjab. The rejection of the proposal by the India Alliance-affiliated Aam Aadmi Party was a major blow to the Congress. At the same time, TMC rejected the talk of alliance with Congress and giving seats in West Bengal. Apart from this, even in Kerala, the Left did not understand what would be the fate of sharing seats with Congress or the alliance.
After winning just 44 seats in 2014 and just 52 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, the Congress currently has governments in only three states where it has won on its own. It is not certain how long the Congress government will last in Himachal.
Low seat strategy or defensive strategy
Political pundits believe that whatever be the strategy of Congress, the low number of seats is not indicative of its strategy but of weakening politics. It's just becoming a defense mechanism. Many leaders from Congress are joining BJP and leaving Congress.
If we talk about Himachal, six MLAs have rebelled here. He joined BJP. Some of them have become candidates from BJP in the by-elections to be held on these seats. The second thing is that after 2014, many senior Congress leaders have left the party.
Congress national spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh, Rohan Gupta, senior leader Sanjay Nirupam and star campaigner leader Vijendra Singh have left the party. At present, the condition of Congress has become such that if it is not able to perform well in this Lok Sabha election, it will have to lose the remaining seats.
Especially the leadership of the opposition alliance may also be snatched away. This time, fewer candidates will be a part of strategy or politics but they will definitely be a part of the policy of saving honour.
Compromise had to be made in Gujarat, Delhi and Haryana also
There is a long history of Congress rule in Delhi, but no one rose up to pick up the fallen kangaroos. There was Congress government in Delhi from 1998 to 2013. Then it declined and the situation started changing. After this, the dominance of Aam Aadmi Party increased in Delhi.
Now the days have come for Congress to form an alliance with its arch rival Aam Aadmi Party. In that too, out of seven seats, only three seats have gone to Congress's account. Same is the situation of Congress in Haryana also.
The Congress, which ran the Haryana government from 2005 to 2014, now has to compromise here too. Congress, which once contested elections on 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, this time had to give the Kurukshetra seat to Aam Aadmi Party. Similarly, in Gujarat also it is the turn of Aam Aadmi Party to bow down.
In the Assembly, Congress has been away from power for many years and now in the Lok Sabha too, Congress is in exile for the last decade. To win seats in the Lok Sabha in Gujarat this year, the Aam Aadmi Party had to give up two seats, Bhavnagar and Bharuch.
Poor performance in UP left Congress helpless
The performance of Congress in the Lok Sabha is also continuously falling in Uttar Pradesh. In 2014, Congress had won in Amethi and Rae Bareli, which were Congress strongholds. This victory was not very important. Only Congress survived. Congress's shame also disappeared in 2019 when Congress President Rahul Gandhi lost the Amethi seat.
Then if we look at the 2022 assembly elections, out of 403 assembly seats, Congress got only two seats. His vote share was only 2.33 percent. On the other hand, there was an alliance in Maharashtra too but it did not work.
In the last two Lok Sabha elections, Congress had contested 25 and 26 seats respectively but the alliance was not big then. Shiv Sena was also not involved in this. This time the alliance has increased, while the Congress seats have decreased.