Congress going for broke in MP
The outcome of these state polls will shape national politics
Congress president Rahul Gandhi kicked off his party’s campaign in Madhya Pradesh’s MalwaNimar region on Monday. This is a particularly crucial belt in the state’s politics, for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won 56 of the 66 seats here in the last elections. If the Congress is to displace the BJP from the state, it has to make a dent here. Mr Gandhi, along with state leaders, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia, visited the Mahakal temple in Ujjain; addressed public rallies in Ujjain and Jhabua; and did a road show in Indore on Monday. And on Tuesday, he had public meetings in Dhar, Khargone and Mhow.
In all his speeches, certain themes were common. One, he launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for siding with rich industrialists, waiving their loans, letting them flee the country, and engaging in corruption and cronyism on Rafale. These allegations were interspersed with the cry of “chowkidar chor hai” (the watchman is a thief). Modi’s biggest strength has been the electorate’s faith in his intent and integrity; the Congress wants to shatter that. If it works, Rahul will deserve credit for persistence and changing the narrative. The second theme in Mr Gandhi’s speech was his claim that as opposed to the BJP, the Congress was for the poor, farmers, Dalits and tribals. The Mandasur killings and agrarian distress have given the Congress ammunition to make this claim. The BJP, however, hopes to neutralise this with its range of welfare schemes. Mr Gandhi’s third line of attack centred around Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s governance record and “corruption”.
The larger story emerging from Mr Gandhi’s campaign is how MP matters to the Congress. In fact, this could well be the most important of the five state elections. The BJP has been in power for 15 years and it is imperative for the Congress to make a comeback to sustain its own morale; the state has 29 Lok Sabha seats and success now could translate into success in 2019; to win a heartland state will improve the party’s national standing and help it coalesce a wider anti-BJP alliance. Mr Gandhi has set the stage for a fierce battle. The outcome will shape national politics.