Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K.S. Alagiri on Monday termed the defeat of the Congress in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Assembly elections shocking and wondered if the local party cadres were able to carry the message of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to the electorate.
In a statement, Mr. Alagiri said BJP’s communal politics could have been defeated had the message of Mr. Gandhi been relayed to the people. The Congress won only in Telangana.
“It is regretful that the Congress did not position itself as an alternative to the BJP which is smeared with communal politics and agenda. It is with this strategy that the BJP gained more vote share than the Congress. The ideological battle between the Congress and the BJP has a long history. Mr. Gandhi has been waging this battle. Only by staunchly following in his footsteps can the party defeat the BJP in 2024,” the TNCC chief said.
Mr. Alagiri said the fact that Congress was going to form the government in Telangana provided solace after the earlier victory in Karnataka. “We have reclaimed our pride after 10 years. It is because of Revanth Reddy’s hard work that the Congress has managed to get 11% more vote share than the 2018 Assembly elections,” he said.
Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not kept any promises in the last nine years, Mr. Alagiri said employment opportunities had not increased, farmers’ issues had not been resolved, inflation had not decreased, prices of petrol, diesel and gas had not reduced, and people’s purchasing power or their livelihood had not become better.
“Only a few industrialists have amassed wealth. The BJP has received funds through electoral bonds. There is no equal playing field in elections as the BJP has vast resources which the Congress does not,” he said.
Mr. Alagiri underlined that the Congress had not lost its vote share. “In the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections, the Congress got 39.3% vote share and won in 100 seats. In 2023, it got 39.53% and won in 69 seats. But the BJP got 2.69% votes more than the Congress and won in 115 seats. Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress got only 0.54% votes less than the BJP. In Chhattisgarh too, the difference is just 1.12%. Despite the Congress getting more or less a similar vote share, the number of seats has reduced,” he said.
